Gov. Mike Beebe and his wife, Ginger, visited our mobile museum, The Race for Planet 'X' on March 11 during an open house at the Capitol. They enjoyed trying out the exhibits and experiencing for themselves what 6th graders across Arkansas have the opportunity to experience.

The Race for Planet 'X' is available free of charge to 6th grade classes across Arkansas thanks to the grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. The goals of the Race for Planet 'X' include reaching kids in rural areas who rarely get the chance to visit a world-class museum, and to inspire interest in science and technology across the state.

If you would like The Race for Planet 'X' to come visit your school (whether you're a teacher, parent, or member of the community), email planetx@amod.org and let us know!

See more pics of the Beebe's Planet 'X' visit on our flickr page!

Diane LaFollette accepted the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism's Partners in Parks Crystal Award on behalf of the Arkansas Discovery Network and the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. The ceremony took place on March 11 at the Arkansas Governor's Conference on Tourism in Rogers. The award honors an organization that has made significant contributions to Arkansas State Parks.

The Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources, an Arkansas Discovery Network partner, is part of the Arkansas State Parks system.

2007 Exploratorium Summer Teacher Institute alum Kathy Sue Hopper, joined Network Coordinator Diane LaFollette to introduce the Network and its activities across the state to the Joint House & Senate Committee on Education at the Capitol on March 11, 2008. The Arkansas Discovery Network has sent 14 Arkansas teachers to the Teacher Institute in the past two years, and will be sending six more this summer.

In this photo, Kathy Sue Hopper — science teacher at Cutter Morning Star Middle School in Hot Springs — is showing the members of the Education Committee an inexpensive science "snack" she was able to produce for her own classroom. She also told the members how valuable her experience at the Teacher Institute was and how it's making an real impact in her classroom.

Diane LaFollette explained many of the other activities of the Network and how they are impacting each region with more museum visitors, by providing learning experiences that coincide with the state education frameworks, and exposing children in rural areas to high-quality museum exhibits with the Network's mobile museum, The Race for Planet 'X'.

We've decided to send our newsletter out monthly so you can keep up on the activities around the state! Look for it every third Friday of the month!

If you have any suggestions or ideas for future newsletters, please email newsletter@arkansasdiscoverynetwork.org and let us know!

Many partners of the Arkansas Discovery Network will be hosting NanoDays events between March 29 and April 6 as part of a nationwide NanoDays celebration through a unique collaboration with Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net).

For more info see NanoDays Across the State.

Share your photos and see what's going on at our network partners on flickr, the photo-sharing web site. See pictures posted by other visitors and post your own at the Arkansas Discovery Network flickr group

See what's been happening with the network by viewing the Arkansas Discovery Network photostream.

Come on and join the fun!

The mission of the Network is to bring world-class educational experiences to the children and families of Arkansas. A generous grant of $7.3 million from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation initiated the Network and made the programs possible.

Find out more about the network of museums across the state of Arkansas.