My Discovery Destination!

  Meagan Piantanida - My Discovery Destination! This will not come as a shock to most of you, but we are living in a world of instant gratification. We want what we want, and we want it five minutes ago: food, entertainment, and even a cure for the sniffles. Then there are answers to any of the questions we have. We want our information NOW.  Because information is available at our fingertips–literally, because not a single one of us ever puts down our mini-computer, also known as a phone–the answer to any query we have is utterly, completely, and directly in our hands.  While having the world available at the touch of a screen is an awesome thing, this age of cyberspace resources has created a planet full of some very impatient people. We have SO MUCH data right in front of us that many of us experience information overload. Does this sound familiar to you? You enable the recorder on your phone, ask Google or Siri a question, click on one of the provided links, pull up s...

Meagan Waite, Assistant Director - My Discovery Destination! I used to work for a local school district. I had summers off, and they always flew by. I once had a boss tell me, “Once July 24 (which is a holiday in Utah) is here, summer is OVER!” She wasn’t wrong.  Before long we will again be acutely aware of school zones, crossing guards, small human bicyclists, and that occasional elementary child that may dart out in the street. Back-to-school time can be a little scary as we all get used to the start-of-the-year school-yard melee. My Discovery Destination! and the Discovery Family Coalition have “gamified” prevention in their quest to get every family talking about important issues like pedestrian safety, mental health, drug safety, online safety, bullying prevention and more. Green Ribbon Week is an annual safety program held in conjunction with the beginning of school to educate families and communities about pedestrian and bike safety and to ensure every child knows how to ge...

Meagan Waite, Assistant Director - My Discovery Destination! June is a GREAT month! The days are longer now than they are at any other time during the year–at least in the northern hemisphere. The weather is warm but usually not quite TOO hot yet, depending on your latitude. There are fairs, festivals, and outdoor concerts. School is out for most students, K-12 and college alike. All these activities beckon us to go outside (all of my fellow allergy-sufferers, I feel your pain, but I’m not letting them get in my way! Who’s with me?!). And, depending on where you live, you are either tending a garden or, if you’re lucky, reaping the rewards of a bountiful harvest of home-grown, fresh fruits and vegetables. Doesn’t all this sound like the perfect prescription to make some robust changes? This is the ideal time to permanently change some of your habits and practices and create a healthy lifestyle for you and your family. The Summer Passport Program (on the Goosechase app, game code SUMMER...

Meagan Waite, Assistant Director - My Discovery Destination! I LOVE summer. I love it when the sun comes up early and wakes me. I love flip flops and shorts. I like to be warm (not hot, but warm). I like warm evenings where I can sit outside and talk with friends and family.  I do not care for mosquitos (although they LOVE me), but that is what Avon’s Skin So Soft is for. This time of year, the summer, is when I thrive.  Unfortunately, summer can have the opposite effect on school-age children. Two months of reading skills–and if reading skills slip then everything slips–and more than two and a half months of math skills can be lost over the 12-weeks between the end of one school year and the beginning of another. It takes teachers about six weeks to play catchup in the fall. This phenomenon is somewhat-affectionately called the “summer slide,” or summer learning loss. Additionally, there’s the risk of early childhood death during the extended school break–you know it’s immine...

by Sharilee Griffiths, Director and Meagan Waite, Assistant Director - My Discovery Destination! The goal of the Discovery Family Adventures is to encourage families to spend time together, strengthening family bonds. Research shows that family attachment is the best prevention for risky behaviors, including suicide. Ever since the day of its inception, My Discovery Destination! has provided its Discovery Family Adventures program to each and every family FOR FREE. Part of our mission states that we “strengthen families by providing opportunities for FREE Family Fun.” Discovery Family Adventures are chock-full of free, flexible, fun activities that help parents really connect with their children and do it with a purpose. They are all 100% FREE to every family that wants to participate and will continue to be free to families. But nothing “free” is ever truly “free.” Someone is paying for it somewhere.  In order for My Discovery Destination! to keep the Discovery Family Adv...

by Meagan Waite, Assistant Director - My Discovery Destination! The first day of April is known around the world as April Fool’s Day. While no one can pinpoint the origin with exact accuracy, it is widely accepted globally that this is the day to try to “pull one over” (within reason, of course!) on your friends, family members, and coworkers. Virtuous, clean pranks can be amusing for everyone, and we are all about having a good time!   But April also has a serious side. Did you know it’s also Family Strengthening (a.k.a. Child Abuse Prevention) Month? Strong families are an important protective factor to prevent child abuse. Spending quality time as a family plays an important role in child abuse prevention because it promotes family bonding and attachment. My Discovery Destination! is working with the Utah Department of Human Services Office of Child and Family Services to collaborate on a special Discovery Hunt to honor the month. You can find it by downloading the Goosechase Ap...

  by Sharilee Griffiths, Director, and Meagan Waite, Assistant Director - My Discovery Destination! No, that is not a typo in the title. SEL is actually an acronym that stands for social-emotional learning. According to National University, “Social emotional learning (SEL) is a methodology that helps students of all ages to better comprehend their emotions, to feel those emotions fully, and demonstrate empathy for others” ( https://bit.ly/3M9Qs1M ). And, it is important because it increases kindness and empathy while reducing depression and stress among students ( https://edut.to/3IMjQct ).  SEL is an integral part of human development. It is the process through which all children and adults develop the knowledge, skills, self-awareness, attitudes and personal well-being to acquire and apply the emotional competencies that help them thrive. It helps young people to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for ...