This summer I had the wonderful experience of having two young brothers bring an envelope full of money to me at Treehouse. It was bills and change donated by their friends and family in lieu of presents to the boys on their birthdays. They were genuinely pleased to give up their presents and make the donation to Treehouse because, they said, they loved Treehouse and wanted it to be around for a long time for lots of children.

At Treehouse we see thousand of children and parents every week (175,000 visitors a year) and so we see lots of great parenting in action. We have learned a lot about what parents can do to support their child’s self control and what hinders children in developing the skills they need. Our staff recommend reading Dr. Laura Markham’s “Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting.” Dr. Markham says there are some important things parents can do to help their children manage their impulses to meet their own goals.

“Summer Slide” sounds like a fun activity, but in reality it represents the learning loss many children experience during the months when they are not in school. Research by John Hopkins University showed that children can lose a month or more in their skills as measured on academic tests in reading and math. That the decline is far worse for children from lower-income households. Summer learning loss appears to be cumulative, too, and over time can make a huge difference in achievement levels in school.

Last year Treehouse celebrated 25 years of providing exhibits and programs to families and schools in Northern Utah. We asked our members to volunteer to help us as “Silver Celebration Families,” who would allow us to photograph them and use their pictures in our publicity about this milestone birthday. They also wrote us a letter about why coming to Treehouse has been important to them. A professional photographer helped us by photographing each family and the photos were so great that we made a series of posters you can find around the Museum.

Right now at Treehouse we are hosting a display of vintage comics in our Gazebo on the main staircase landing. We have giant comic book pages, original comic book art, figures, lunch boxes, and other comic book based merchandise and even a great life-size Spider Man. Most of these items come from the collection of member dad Pat Murphy who generously loaned them to Treehouse to extend our “Be the Hero of Your Own Story” gallery.

Visitors have noticed some big changes happening on Treehouse’s second level. The beloved Music Room exhibit has disappeared for a time to make way for a new exhibit based on early natural science concepts. The exhibit, called “Walk in the Woods,” is geared for ages 3 to 8 and focuses on seasonal changes, Utah animals, plants, birds, and reptiles. There’s a winter cave where Mama Bear sleeps.

Each year Treehouse Children’s Museum offers three or four Artists in Residence experiences, introducing children and their parents to working professionals in the arts who share how they make their stories come to life on a page or on a stage.