Be a Weather Kid
by Martha Blume
March is the windy month, and boy has it been blowing up a storm on points around the Chesapeake Bay. Weathermen have fancy instruments for checking wind speed and direction, but you can be a weather kid just by looking out your window and taking notice about what the wind is up to.
Wind velocity, or speed, is measured using the Beaufort scale, named for an English admiral who thought it up in the 1800s. It uses observation to determine the speed of the wind.
Make your own wind vane
Did you know that the direction of the wind (where it’s coming from) affects the weather? Good weather generally comes on northwest, west and southwest winds; bad weather usually blows in by winds off the northeast, east and southeast.
You need: a straw, two one-inch triangles cut from cardboard, a straight pin, a pencil (with an eraser), an empty shoebox, modeling clay.
1. Cut a slit in each end of the straw and glue base of triangle in each slit to make an arrow.
2. Stick the pin through the center of the straw and down into the pencil eraser so the arrow can spin freely.
3. Put the pencil point down through the upside down shoebox.
4. Take your wind vane outside and attach it to a stable surface, like a picnic table, with modeling clay. Draw N, E, S and W on the sides of the box. The arrow will point to the direction the wind is blowing from. Can you tell what weather it will bring?
Meet Cloud Painter Author Mar. 24
Meet Eileen Doran-Smith, local children’s book author and illustrator, as she reads her two books The Cloud Painter and How the Youngest Angel Learned to Fly. Afterwards, make your own cloud paintings. 1pm @ Borders, Annapolis Mall. Free: 410/571-0923.
{photo courtesy of Eileen Doran-Smith]
Kid's Stuff
Sunday, March 24
Cottontail Hayride
Shake your bunny tail and reserve tickets for hayride and goodies from the Easter Bunny. 1pm @ Kinder Farm Park, Millersville. $2; rsvp: 410/222-6115.
Local Lizards
See if you can spot some live salamanders, one of the world’s most numerous yet rarely seen animals. Wear walking shoes and dress for weather. 2-3pm @ Flag Ponds Nature Park, Lusby. $3 w/discounts; rsvp: 410/535-5327.
Tuesday, March 26
Easter Storytime
Join Ms. Terry for stories about Easter, friends and family. 10:30am @ Borders, Bowie: 301/352-5560.
Wednesday, March 27
Teeny Weeny Dinosaur Hunt
Come for an egg hunt created just for toddlers. 10am @ Southern Community Center, Lusby. Free; rsvp: 410/586-1101.
Dine w/Easter Bunny
Enjoy dinner w/the Easter Bunny, plus go home with a snapshot. 5-6:30pm @ Mt. Hope Community Center, Sunderland. $6; rsvp: 410/257-6770.
Sundaes w/the Easter Bunny
After having dinner w/the Easter Bunny (see above), hop off to Northeast Community Ctr. to join him for dessert. Make your own ice cream sundae then watch Diane Herbert’s Dance Studio. 6:30pm @ the Center, Chesapeake Beach. $5; rsvp: 410/257-2554.
Thursday, March 28
Egg Hunt
Babies and toddlers come from all over Calvert County to hunt eggs. 11am/ages 2 & under; 11:30/ages 3-12 @ Hallowing Point Park, Prince Frederick: 410/586-1101.
