Curious George's Winter Vacation in Waterville Valley

Curious George and the Man With the Yellow Hat made their first ever winter visit to Waterville Valley Resort on Saturday, January 19, 2013 for the Curious George Cottage Winter Family Festival. The event, held at the Waterville Valley Ski Area, was a benefit for the Margret and H.A. Rey Center made possible by the generous support of Waterville Valley Resort and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt publishers.

The fun began with one of Curious George’s favorite events, a banana pancake breakfast, held at T-Bars, where families had the opportunity to visit with Curious George and the Man With the Yellow Hat while fueling up before they hit the slopes for the day. Following breakfast, Waterville Valley’s own Bruce the Moose joined the characters for a parade from the Courtyard to the J-Bar area. Curious George fans of all ages had the opportunity to pose for photos with the fun bunch. Curious George and his buddy spent the afternoon greeting skiers and riders in the base lodge and got to meet some of their youngest fans during a visit to the ski school. The Man With the Yellow Hat, accompanied by a couple bananas, even took a few runs down The Pastures while Curious George cheered them on. The day wrapped up with Curious George crafts and Curious Characters by local artists Maryelln Sakura and Denise Siraco at the Margret and H.A. Rey Center in Town Square.

The day would not have been possible without the help of the following volunteers: Chris Jakubowski, Elizabeth Parker, Shaina Buckley, Samantha Brode, Lucy Crowley, Mike Conlan, Claudia Conlan, Brian Eisenhauer, John Halloran, Nancy Halloran, Maryellen Sakura, Vicki Goldberg, Tina Koppel, Mike Koppel and Beth Szymczak. Waterville Valley Ski Area staff Kelsey Chaon, Bob Fries, Bobby Foster, Tom Gross Jack Salivonchik and John Carpenter also provided invaluable support.

Local professional photographer Willey Peckham generously lent his talents and expertise to the day by capturing on film the fun and excitement of seeing Curious George and the Man With the Yellow Hat at the Ski Area. View and purchase photos from the day at Willey Peckham’s website: http://willeyswildlifephotography.com.

Join us for the 7^th Annual Curious George Cottage Family Festival on August 10-11, 2013 when Curious George and the Man With the Yellow Hat will return to Waterville Valley for their annual summer visit. Visit TheReyCenter.org for details and to purchase tickets.

Margret and H.A. Rey, authors of the Curious George children’s books series and former summer residents of Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, were artists and adventurers, historians and naturalists, gardeners and stewards. Today their spirit lives on in the Margret and H.A. Rey Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring the Reys’ legacy through art, science, and adventure programs for all ages. For more information please contact the Margret and H.A. Rey Center at 603-236-3308 or visit TheReyCenter.org. 

Trout in the Classroom

Eggs arrive at Waterville Valley  School on Jan. 16th
By: Raymond Kucharski

Trout in the Classroom (TIC) comes to Waterville Valley  Elementary School (WVES). The TIC program is part of the NH Fish and Game  Department Watershed Education Program (WEP) and is supported by the  Margret and H. A. Rey Center and the Pemigewasset chapter of  Trout  Unlimited (TU). Students in grades K-12 raise trout from eggs to fry,  monitor tank water quality, engage in stream habitat study, and foster an  understanding of ecosystems and watersheds. Each teacher tailors the  program to fit his or her curricular needs in science, social studies,  mathematics, language arts, fine arts, and physical education. Students  end the year by releasing their trout in a state-approved stream near the  school or within a nearby watershed.

The students at WVES are  creating an art exhibit "Fish Go to School" that will share what they  learned through the Trout in the Classroom project. Students work will be  on display from March 15-May 10 at the Margret and H.A. Rey Art Gallery in  Waterville Valley's Town Square.

Insulated Tank to keep the water close to 38 degrees Fahrenheit

Leigh Ann Reynolds from the Margret and H.A. Rey Center pours eggs into their new home

Eggs settle to the bottom of the tank

Dead eggs are removed with a turkey baster

Students hold an undeveloped trout egg

January 24th Update

The Waterville Valley Elementary School students calculated the swim-up date to be the end of April based on 38 degree water. The temperature was 42 degrees on 01/16/13. The temperature will be lowered even more to delay the fish from swimming up too soon. It would be ideal to have them swim up in early May for a June release. Once the eggs hatch TIC will be able to get a better idea of the exact stage they are at since TIC guessed they were about 47% when we received them.

The Waterville Valley Elementary School students got a close-up view of dead and live eggs through a microscope during one of their classes. The students made measurements and sketches of the brook trout eggs.

Come Meet our New Friend at the Rey Center!

Come meet our new friend BUBBLES!

 Bubbles is a red-eared slider and is adjusting nicely to his new home at the Rey Center.

Getting Crafty at the Curious George Cottage

We had a lot of fun this week with all the kids and parents that joined us for Curious George Story Time and Craft at the Curious George Cottage. Over the vacation week we have made reindeer, Katy-no-Pocket kangaroos, and birch bark sleds complete with pine cone people! Many thanks to our friends at the Bookmonger in Waterville Valley's Town Square for lending us a copy of Rebecca Rule's new book "The Iciest, Diciest, Scariest Sled Ride Ever." It was the perfect book to accompany our birch bark sleds with pine cone people. Check out this book at the Bookmonger - you will enjoy it! 

Join us for Curious George Story Time on Fridays this winter at 3:30 p.m. at the Curious George Cottage, and at the Margret and H.A. Rey Center in Town Square on Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Curious George Story Time and Craft will be held again during the February Vacation Weeks. We hope to see you then!

 A New Art Exhibit at the Rey Center

Citizen Science is Blooming!

That's according to the National Environmental Education Foundation. This past year they released a neat poster, highlighting the impact of citizen scientists nation-wide. Some amazing accomplishments in 2011 include the tallying of over 61 million bird observations during the Christmas Bird Count, water quality monitoring at 1,750 sites around the nation on World Water Monitoring Day, and mapping the first detailed fall migration flyway of monarch butterflies in eastern North America. Fine accomplishments indeed!

The Rey Center encourages citizen scientists to get involved wherever they can. One way is to participate in Rey Center citizen science programs, such as, Water Watchers, helping us monitor the quality of our local waterways, Species Monitoring on Welch Ledges, helping us catalog alpine plants for preservation, or Phenology Watchers, recording the timing of seasonal events in our local forests.

You too can make a difference! Join us or look for opportunities in your own backyard. To learn more, contact me at kvotta@thereycenter.org.

Kim Votta

Curious Cuttings...

I have been taking advantage of the lack of snow this December by putting on my hiking shoes. While strolling along I kept noticing green bits on the ground and upon closer inspection I realized that they were cuttings from fir trees. At first I thought maybe they had blown down in the wind, but as I kept walking I noticed more. They seemed to be directly under a tree so I ruled out the wind which would scatter them more.

I picked up one of the cuttings and noticed that it appeared to have been snipped from the tree. That made me start to consider an animal as the culprit leaving all these curious cuttings. So I began to think of critters that might like twigs & buds as a snack. I had recently read an article about porcupines so I had them on the brain and knew they eat parts of trees, but then pictured them hanging precariously on the end of a branch and ruled them out based on weight. So that left me with squirrels.

When I returned to work I asked my coworker, Kim, and she said that it was indeed squirrels. Since the seeds and nuts grow in clusters on the end of the twigs the squirrels have figured out that it is easier to snip the twig instead of each little seed.

These curious cuttings are the work of squirrels busily working to store enough food for the winter that I know is on its way. Bring it on, LET IT SNOW and I will happily trade in my hiking boots for cross country skis!

Leigh Ann Reynolds