Soccer, baseball, lacrosse, football, cheerleading — the opportunities for young Westport athletes are many, and overwhelming. Your kid may participate in all of the above, perhaps simultaneously.
But what about the non-jocks?
On Saturday, March 19 (12:30-4 p.m.), Minds in Motion takes over Bedford Middle School. Goodbye, Mark Sanchez. Hello, Mark Zuckerberg!
The event — for kindergartners through 8th graders who are classroom studs — is hosted by the Connecticut Association for the Gifted. It’s a fun day of fast-paced, high-interest, hands-on workshops. Kids who love to learn new things get their hands dirty, doing very exciting experiments and programs.
And no, they don’t have to be technically labeled “gifted” to go. “Curious” is cool.
Dissecting a squid, at last year's Minds in Motion.
One 11-year-old still talks about an experience from last year. An Audubon Society expert shared secrets about owls’ nocturnal habits — and showed the youngsters how to dissect their (the owls’) pellets.
This year, an educator from the Eli Whitney Museum will teach kids how to build their own “Vibrocraft” (a vehicle that runs on a vibrating motor).
There are also be sessions on everything from black holes, Italian cooking, Mandarin and zoology to the basic techniques of playing guitar, keyboards or drums, and singing in a rock band (courtesy of School of Rock).
Arcade Fire, look out!
(Minds in Motion is open to youngsters throughout Fairfield County. There are also workshops and addresses for parents and teachers. Registration — $30 for CAG members, $40 for non-members — is first-come first-served, at www.ctgifted.org. For more information, email MIMWestport@ctgifted.org, or call 203-227-1516.)
Having had two kids who loved the Minds in Motion program when it first came to Westport, I was surprised to see your assumption that all the participants are “non-jocks.” I can tell you from firsthand experience that plenty of this town’s soccer, baseball, lacrosse and football players — and cheerleaders — are also “classroom studs.” It doesn’t help anyone to continue to promote an outdated notion that people come in two flavors: athletic or intellectual. Just ask President Obama the next time you see him on the basketball court.
I guess my attempt at humor/hyperbole fell flat. As the head coach of the Staples boys soccer program — winner for 7 of the last 9 years of a national honor for team grade averages of 3.25 or more — I am well aware of (and quite proud of) the intellectual prowess of our athletes.
I know you are, Dan. And your humor is usually spot on. Just thought you played it bit too straight this time.