Best in the burbs
Students from East Aurora and West Aurora celebrate with Mayor Weisner
Thanks to 40,000 + votes from Aurora residents and supporters, the City of Lights was deemed the 2013 Best in the Burbs Suburban Madness Champion by the Eric and Kathy Morning Show on – 101.9 FM, The Mix! The annual competition matches 16 suburbs in a bracket competition to compete for the most text and computer votes. Aurora battled through the rounds and clinched the stop spot from Lemont, IL.
Held at the Paramount Theatre, the Best in the Burbs Trophy presentation brought radio personalities from the top rated Chicago radio show to our city. They were welcomed with a police escort, the East Aurora NJROTC Rifle Team and Drill Team and the West Aurora Band, Cheerleaders, and Dance Team.
Melissa from the Eric & Kathy Morning Show greets the Aurora crowd
SciTech Hands-On Museum:
Aurora’ s best-kept secret on the river
Where can you go to discover your shadow, investigate the inside of a two-story tornado, launch a hot air balloon and so much more? Just stroll down West Benton Street past the Aurora Public Library and you will find a rustic brick building sitting on the beautiful Fox River. Originally the home of the City’ s Post Office that opened in 1931, it has for the past 25 years housed the SciTech Hands-On Museum.
SciTech was founded in 1987 by Dr. Ernest Malamud, a senior scientist at Fermilab with help from other scientists and engineers from various industries. It was their belief that each generation of scientists has a duty to inspire their successors.
Today, SciTech is a cultural and educational treasure in Aurora, reaching over 75,000 people a year and offering more than 200 hands-on exhibits including a wide variety of educational programs. You can book field trips, birthday parties, overnight adventures, and discover the spectacular outdoor science park( weather permitting). Stop in the Discovery Store on your next visit and explore fun and educational science toys.
SciTech offers the only S. T. E. M.( Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Preschool and Kindergarten housed in a museum. It features monthly science themes including chemistry, biology, geology, and the scientific method. There are weekly library visits, educational computer time, and Zoophonics. The students participate in Spanish and American Sign Language lessons, music and art appreciation, museum time, and other activities. Spaces are limited, so register now for the fall semester.
If you are looking for fun summer activities, don’ t forget about SciTech’ s week-long Science Adventure Camps. Youngsters explore topics that include Totally Ballistics, CSI: Crime Scene Investigator, Fun with Chemistry, and Lego Robotics. The camps run from June 24 to August 2. You can get all the information online and register at www. scitechmuseum. org or call 630-859-3434 x 214.
If you have not experienced this amazing museum, come join us for“ SciTastic” fun!
Purchase your rain barrel today!
The 55-gallon plastic containers are designed to be connected to rooftop gutters to collect water, which can then be used to fill watering cans or buckets. Benefits of using a rain barrel to store rain water include:
• Reducing the amount of storm-water runoff and pollutants that are picked up and carried to storm sewers, creeks and the Fox River.
• Conserving water used from underground aquifers.
• Hydrating plants and gardens better because the naturally soft water is devoid of minerals, chlorine, fluoride and other chemicals.
The rain barrels, which come in four different colors of black, gray, blue, or terra cotta, can be purchased by Aurora residents for $ 58.50(+ tax) by ordering online at www. upcycleproducts. com and choosing the Aurora order form; or by calling 630-553-0687, ext. 302.
City of Aurora www. aurora-il. org 11