July 2012: Letter to Editor re. Port Discover

By: Kathryn Melton, Port Discover
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Port Discover is grateful...!

As the fiscal year draws to a close, Port Discover’s Board of Directors is especially appreciative of our community. As you may know, seventy-five percent of Port Discover's annual budget is funded through corporate sponsors, fundraising activities, grants, children's programs and our membership drive. We are able to provide free admission to our hands-on science center because of such community support.

Recently, this community-wide support was especially evident at Port Discover’s annual fundraiser, a sell-out: “The Science of Beer”. With the support of this event’s wonderful corporate sponsors including, TowneBank, Montero's Restaurant, Todd's Pharmacy and The Rich Company, as well as twenty local Celebrity Servers and enthusiastic attendees, we met our goal...over $5,000.00! Thank you!

As always, Port Discover is also especially grateful to Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) which pays the salary of Port Discover’s Director, who is also an instructor at the university. ECSU provides a wealth of knowledge and experience through its faculty and staff who volunteer by serving on the Board of Directors and conduct classes for the youth who attend Port Discover. Their volunteer service is coupled with that of representatives from College of the Albemarle, Museum of the Albemarle, Arts of the Albemarle, United States Coast Guard, Albemarle Hospital and other passionate philanthropists from our community who serve on Port Discover’s Board of Directors.

To that end, I want to send many thanks to all the members of Port Discover’s Board (past and present), Port Discover’s former Director, LuAnne Pendergraft, Port Discover’s staff, our interim director, sponsors, members, North Carolina’s Grassroots Science Museums Collaborative, ECSU, The Daily Advance and our community as a whole. You all enable Port Discover to be an asset to our community, as a non-profit that provides exceptional educational opportunities and makes learning fun for all children in Northeastern NC and beyond. Port Discover is the place “where kids are the scientists”!

~ Kathryn Melton, Port Discover Board of Directors, Vice Chairperson

February 2012: Port Discover Offers Weekend Science Lab Experience

Port Discover Offers Weekend Science Lab Experience, February 18
Elizabeth City, NC — Port Discover, in partnership with Elizabeth City State University, offers Weekend Science Lab Experience on Saturday, February 18 at 9:00 am at Elizabeth City State University. The program will offer 9 to 12-year-olds the opportunity to work with a scientist in the labs at ECSU and conduct a hands-on scientific experiment.

Dr. Margaret Young, associate professor of biology at Elizabeth City State University, will lead children, 9 to 12-year-olds, through “Cloning of a Potato.” Each student will make a culture of a potato under sterile conditions at the ECSU labs, and using appropriate scientific techniques will create the environment necessary for plant growth. The students will exhibit their produce during the 2012 North Carolina Potato Festival in May.

Cost for the Weekend Science Lab Experience is $10 ($8 for members) and includes all materials. This program is open to the public. Reservations are required.

Port Discover is located at 611 East Main Street in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The science center’s hours are Tuesday through Friday from 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm, and Saturday from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Programs can be arranged at other times for special groups. To register for this program please call 252-338-6117 or email portdiscover@portdiscover.org. Find out more about Port Discover at www.portdiscover.org.

Port Discover is a community-based, non-profit organization, established to enhance the public’s understanding and enjoyment of science through engaging programs, activities, and exhibits. Elizabeth City State University along with the Elizabeth City Area Chamber of Commerce initiated the project that has attracted broad community support, including Elizabeth City Morning Rotary, College of the Albemarle, Albemarle Hospital, Museum of the Albemarle, Elizabeth City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools. Port Discover is also a member of the NC Grassroots Science Museum Collaborative.
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