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12   |  Y E L LOW S P R I N G S N EWS  2 O 2 0 – 2 1 S C HOO L G U I D E arguments and essays, learn about dif- fering viewpoints and develop analyti- cal thinking skills. • Science Reference Center — Encyclo- pedias, reference books, periodicals and other sources covering a wide range of scientific fields. • Transparent Language Online — Com- plete language-learning system with extensive courses and supplemental resources for more than 100 lan- guages, including English. • TrueFlix : Books & Video s — Interactive books, videos, games and activities about science and social studies. • Very Short Introductions — Intelligent and serious introductions written by authors who are experts in their field. • World Book — Encyclopedias for stu- dents and families, including: Early World of Learning, World Book for Kids, Online World Book for Students, Online World Book Advanced and World Book Timelines. Visit greenelibrary.info/online-resources to access these resources, and click on “For Kids” or “For Teens.” YELLOW SPRINGS SCIENCE CASTLE The Yellow Springs Science Castle is an emerging museum of play. The museum aims to provide educational services to families of children ages 0–12. Programs will nurture the entrepreneurial spirit in the very young. Attending to early childhood development, reach and well- being, The YS Science Castle will offer accommodations for learning and exer- cise skills for self-advocacy and inquisi- tiveness. The YS Science Castle is excited about future plans, but is proceeding slowly due to the ongoing pandemic. Since March, the emerging museum has concentrated on curriculum development and is work- ing with Temitayo Osinubi of STEM Whis- perers on an education program, mashing math skills with marketing technology. Earlier this year, the YS Science Castle received an equipment grant from the National Informal STEM Education Net- work. The first of two kits arrived in February, and the NISE Net kit on Earth & Space Science was featured in two events, one at Sinclair College and the second at the Prairies Youth Center near the Air Force base. The second kit is expected to arrive soon. In response to COVID-19, the YS Sci- ence Castle is reformatting its hands-on activities so that they can be offered safely. A booth at the Yellow Springs Farmers Market is planned for later this season. Other than holding back on offering popup events, the YS Science Castle has been making steady forward progress in 2020 towards opening. In mid-July, the organization received determination from the IRS, granting the museum status as a public charity. For more information on the YS Science Castle, visit yellowspringssciencecastle. myportfolio.com or www.facebook.com/ YellowSpringsScienceCastle. YOUNG PEOPLE OF COLOR The Young People of Color group was developed by The 365 Project to provide local children of color with mentorship and learning opportunities to help them to connect with and learn about Black culture from adults and leaders within their com- munities. Mentors provide educational experiences and events for youth group members. Interested youth and parents can email The 365 Project for more infor- mation at the365projectys@gmail.com. YELLOW SPRINGS VILLAGE IMPACT PROJECT The Village Impact Project, or VIP, is a mentorship program that pairs community adults with local young people. Launched in January 2019 by Donna Haller, an intervention specialist at Yellow Springs High School, and first organized in affiliation with Big Brothers Big Sisters Miami Valley, the nonprofit organization became independent with its own govern- ing board of trustees in July 2019. Second- through ninth-grade students of Yellow Springs Schools who want to be part of the program are paired with men- tors who share their interests. Following its motto, “Changing our community two people at a time,” the program “seeks to become an integral part of village life through activities, fundraisers and com- munity service projects,” according to its mission statement. Student-mentor pairs can take part in one-on-one pursuits, such as bike riding, and monthly VIP group activities, which have included attending local sporting events, visiting Young’s Jersey Dairy and programming at Community Solutions’ Agraria property. For more information, call 937-623- 3233 or visit the group’s Facebook page at: facebook.com/VillageImpactProject/. YOUTH CENTER AT THE JOHN BRYAN CENTER Due to COVID-19 concerns, the Youth Center is closed until further notice. Located on the first floor of the John Bryan Center, the Youth Center is a wel- coming space for Yellow Springs residents ages 11 to 19 years old. In times of normal operation, the center is open from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. The center features a newly renovated game room, homework help and other amenities. Open hours at the adjacent gym are also available. For more information, including when the center plans to reopen, youth and par- ents may email monitors@yso.com. YS KIDS PLAYHOUSE The YS Kids Playhouse is a multi-gener- ational, multimedia traveling theater that uses the art of puppetry to mentor young performers and promote community dialogues. The mission of YSKP is to cultivate the development of future actors, leaders, patrons and audiences and to enhance art awareness in our community through arts education programming and the creation of original multimedia theater for youth. To accomplish this mission, YSKP aims to: • Provide quality theater training for local youth, since no formal academic theater education is available in the local community. • Fill a niche in the Miami Valley and Dayton area theater spectrum, focus- ing exclusively on original works that also produce higher-level thinking and learning skills. • Require works to be threaded with contemporary social, cultural, histori- cal or geopolitical issues and modern media technologies keeping our experience relevant for youth and our community. • Use artists from a multitude of disci - plines — visual arts, sculpture, video art, music performance and dance — providing a variety of arts role models and enriching the quality of the production experience. • Provide partial and full scholar - ships, thereby enabling all youth to participate. • Produce sophisticated entertainment for all ages that does not condescend to youth, providing quality arts expe- riences for our community. The Traveling Tabletop Theater, or TTT, is a traveling puppet theater that can be pulled to designated locations. The theater has two achievable inside stage areas with movable seating benches that accommodate 15–20 audience members for the performance. There is a TV moni- tor located on an outside wall facilitat- ing a simultaneous broadcast of the presentation. In addition to the featured program- ming, workshops in puppet making are offered at each venue site. The educa- tional goal of the project is to use interac- tion with the arts to create reflection and dialogues within communities. The TTT project is a collaboration between YSKP theater director John Fleming, designer/entrepreneur Bob Swaney and theater scholar Luke Dennis. It will be a new program of the YS Kids Playhouse, earmarking a next step for the celebrated youth theater. John Fleming and Luke Dennis are the program coordi- nators for seasonal cultural offerings. The inspiration for the TTT is in response to present-day cultural interest in puppetry and animated objects both as a form of artistic expression and a tool of commerce and mass entertainment. Productions are curated by the coor- dinators and will be influenced by the cross-fertilization between contemporary and traditional styles in puppetry and per- forming objects. For more information, visit yskp.org or email flemo.jf@gmail.com. YS YOUTH ORCHESTRA The YS Youth Orchestra Program, or YSYOA, works to serve the village commu- nity in music education and other music- related endeavors. Founded by cellist Shirley Mullins and the late violinist Mary Schumacher in 1965, the organization’s original focus was on supporting music education for children in YS schools. In recent years, the YSYOA has expanded its reach, and in addition to continuing its support of local school music programs, also supports and organizes the annual YS Summer Music Camp and the Yellow Springs Strings, a chamber orchestra for adults. YSYOA also organizes and presents recitals and concerts. In 2020, the YSYOA announced a new scholarship fund to help provide private music instruction for musicians of any age. Those who haven’t received private music lessons on a preferred instru- ment may apply to the scholarship fund to receive funding to pay for a limited number of lessons, with the possibility of further support after those lessons have been completed. For more information, or to download a scholarship application, visit ysyoa.org. | ENRICHMENT OPTIONS CONT I NUED F ROM PAGE 11