This summer, the Newport Aquarium is opening a new exhibit that will change the way you think about frogs. “Frog Bog,” opening Memorial Day Weekend, will feature these unique and wonderful animals with fun and new interactive components for kids to enjoy.  Included in the Aquarium’s general admission price, this exhibit, with many different kinds of frogs, has many hands-on, visual and sound-rich experiences that highlight different senses and replicate the frog habitat. Kids can learn all about frogs with activities including three-foot-tall Musical Frog replicas that will "sing" when children play with them. The Aquarium will provide an updated Frogger-type video game with an interactive pad. Another interactive demonstrates amphibian habitat destruction. There will also be an area that allows kids to explore exhibits while climbing through tunnels, walking through tubes and sliding down a slide.

From musical frogs to climbing and sliding... kids will be immersed in the world of frogs.

Why frogs? There is a global amphibian crisis and over 500 species of frogs are critically endangered and threatened with extinction due to environmental changes and pollution. Frogs absorb toxins through their skin, so when waterways become polluted, the frogs are the first to die.

For more information, visit www.newportaquarium.com.

General admission: $18.95 adults; Child (2 - 12) $11.95

Extended Summer Hours 
5/23/08 – 8/30/08 
9 a.m. – 7 p.m.: Sundays – Fridays 
9 a.m. – 9 p.m.: Saturdays

Summer Family Hours:  Kids Get in Free  
5/27/08 – 8/29/08 
4:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.: Sundays – Fridays 
Up to two kids get in free with each full price adult admission. Strollers welcome during Family Hours.

Visitors to The Dayton Art Institute will enjoy a·muse, a special exhibition of art created by 67 of The Dayton Art Institute's current instructors and students, ranging in age from 5 to 65. Works of art include jewelry, mosaics, sculptures, paintings and drawings. All of the student work was created in classes held at the museum in 2007 and 2008.

a·muse is sponsored in part by the Joan W. McCoy Memorial Art Fund. Joan W. McCoy was a practicing artist throughout her lifetime and worked full-time for seven years as The Dayton Art Institute's first docent. She became a docent after receiving her Art History degree from Wooster College. As the museum's first docent, McCoy was in charge of tour information and training and supervising volunteer guides. She also attended the University of Dayton, obtaining a teaching degree in art, and years later received a Master's degree in Art Education at Wright State University.

McCoy was a high school art teacher and taught for 30 years at Wayne High School in Huber Heights. She was also an active member of the Dayton Society of Painters and Sculptors, the Fairborn Art Association, the Western Ohio Watercolor Society, the Ohio Watercolor Society, and the Dayton Traveling Brushes. McCoy's works appeared in many shows throughout the area and she won numerous awards for her painting and ceramics.

a·muse is on view at The Dayton Art Institute from August 9 to November 16, 2008. Admission is free.

For more information visit it www.daytonartinstitute.org or call

Join us every Tuesday for a nature walk in the park. Bring binoculars for wildlife viewing. Meet at first parking lot.