For pediatric patients, medical jargon can be confusing, complicated, and  sometimes downright scary.

But now, there’s an app for that.

Simply Sayin‘ was developed by Brian Bogert, a former Phoenix Children’s Hospital patient, to help hospital staff, child life specialists and families to explain medical terms in kid-friendly, age-appropriate language.

The free app, available for Apple devices, features a medical glossary of more than 250 terms commonly used in healthcare settings along with a simple definition that children can understand.

Trying to explain what will happen during a surgical procedure? Where a child will be for that procedure, and what doctors will be doing? Simply Sayin’ offers photos and info to help explain.

Interactive images and illustrations allow children to see where incisions might be drawn on their bodies or hear the sounds of an MRI machine before undergoing a procedure.

The app also has a teach-back feature that helps parents or clinicians to know if children truly understand what they’ve heard. The app is available in both Spanish and English.

Photo by Daniel Friedman

“The purpose of Simply Sayin’ is to help medical professionals use words that are clear and easy to understand,” said Betsy Rosebrugh, Manager of the Child Life Program. “One of the best ways to support a child and family when in the hospital is to communicate using developmentally appropriate language.”

Bogert, a a director with PALs, the PCH Foundation patient advocacy group, rallied his Valley Leadership class to fundraise for and manage the project.

Brian Bogert demonstrates Simply Sayin'. Photo by Daniel Friedman.

“As a former Phoenix Children’s patient, I can say without a doubt that Phoenix Children’s Child Life Program helped not only me, but my entire family through what was a very stressful time for all of us,” said Bogert, whose severed arm was re-attached at Phoenix Children’s Hospital after a childhood accident.

“The Simply Sayin app is a powerful tool that will not only give hospital staff vital information at their fingertips, but it will help families cope and understand their medical care as well.”

The Billboard Music Awards air tonight beginning at 5pm. Photo courtesy of Billboard Music Awards.

With the 2013 Billboard Music Awards broadcasting tonight, DrugFreeAZ.org is encouraging parents to take the opportunity to talk with children about the meaning behind the lyrics in some of today’s popular music.

According to research from the University of Pittsburgh:

One-third of pop songs contain explicit alcohol or other drug references, including 77 percent of rap songs and 36 percent of country songs.

Teenagers tend to listen to about two and a half hours of music daily and the vast majority have iPhones, iPods or technology to listen to the music with ear buds in their rooms.

For every hour of music teens listen to they are hearing an estimated 35 alcohol or other drug references.

24 percent of popular songs mention alcohol use, 14 percent mentioned marijuana use, 12 percent spoke of other drug use and only 4 percent contained an anti-drug message.

Despite any parents’ best efforts, children will be exposed to these lyrics and chances are they will have questions about references they don’t understand.

My heroine, my cocaine
My plum wine, my MDMA
I’m hopped up on it
It won’t go away
And I can’t wait ’til I get home to get you in my veins
– “Pusher Love Girl” by Justin Timberlake

So how do you begin a dialog?

First parents really need to know what music their kids are listening to. One of the first questions parents should ask is, “What kind of music do you like?” If your child says Justin Timberlake, follow up and say, “Have you heard about his new song ‘Pusher Love Girl?’” If so, follow up:

“What do you think that song is about?”

“Do you know what cocaine is or MDMA?”

“What’s the message the song is trying to convey?”

“What do you think it would be like to be addicted to something where it takes over your life? Did you know drugs and alcohol can do that?”

I don’t care what people say
The rush is worth the price I pay
I get so high when you’re with me
But crash and crave you when you leave.
- “Your Love is my Drug” by Ke$ha

This song offers an opportunity to talk about relationships. Ask your teenager:

“What do you look for in a friend, boyfriend or girlfriend?”

“Do you think the song is talking about a healthy relationship? Why? Or why not? ”

They tried to make me go to rehab but I said ‘no, no, no’
Yes I’ve been black but when I come back you’ll know know know.
- “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse

Some songs are much more literal in their references to drugs and will even include negative side-effects. When confronted with questions about these song lyrics, parents can use them to teach their children the dangers of drugs. Parents can use the examples to be straight forward with their children — in the case of Amy Winehouse, her struggles with drugs and alcohol eventually led to her untimely death. Ask your children: “Would Amy Winehouse still be here today had she gone to rehab?”

I was gonna go to class before I got high
I coulda cheated and I coulda passed but I got high
Now I am taking it next semester and I know why
Because I got high, because I got high, because I got high.”
– “Because I Got High” by Afroman

In Afroman’s popular weed anthem, it is clear what the consequences of his actions are. While older children may find his lyrics amusing, the message can be taken seriously: Smoke marijuana and many of life’s opportunities can be lost.

Ask your children: “What do you think he could have accomplished had he not gotten high?”

Popping bottles in the ice, like a blizzard
When we drink we do it right gettin slizzard
Sippin sizzurp in my ride, like Three 6
Now I’m feeling so fly like a G6.
- “Like a G6″ by Far East Movement

MDMA got you feelin’ like a champion
The city never sleeps but it’ll slip you an Ambien.
- “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z

For any song that has a drug reference, it’s important to talk with your child about the fact that drug use comes with risks and that anytime drugs or alcohol are used it impairs judgment and makes people do things they may regret later on.

Stress to your teen how proud you are of their choices so far and keep praising them when they make additional healthy choices to be with friends who don’t drink or use drugs.

If you hear your child singing along to lyrics that talk about the “highs” of drugs or alcohol without the consequences, make sure they know what they are singing about – why it is inappropriate and the dangers that are omitted from the song. Review the lyrics with your child and then together research the negative effects not sung about.

Do not lie to your child about the meaning of words they hear in songs.

Adolescents will learn the meaning of lyrics through friends, searching the Internet or other media. Learning that their parents were wrong (or misleading) can make them question other advice they have been given. They also may think their parents are naive or “clueless” and won’t notice if they choose to experiment with drugs.

For more information on how to talk with your children about drugs and alcohol, visit DrugFreeAZ.org.

Zachary Quinto (L) as Spock and Chris Pine as Capt. James T. Kirk. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

It’s easy to assume that “Star Trek” stories are all about exploring outer space. Since Gene Roddenberry’s “Star Trek” television series premiered on NBC in 1966, the Starship Enterprise has been traversing a universe filled with worlds different than our own — always with the “prime directive” of not interfering in ways that might alter the natural evolution of other species or societies.

The balance tips a bit in each iteration of Roddenberry’s tale — but his framing of the universe always acknowledged humanity’s drive to explore both without and within. Explorations steer decidedly inward during director J.J. Abrams’ second take on the “Star Trek” saga, exploring both the inner worlds of several “Star Trek” characters and the inner workings of the planet Star Fleet calls home.

Chris Pine as Capt. James T. Kirk. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Captain Kirk and his Starship Enterprise crew explore only one distant world during the course of “Star Trek Into Darkness.” It’s a lava-laden planet whose primitive people are in peril as the movie opens, and left behind before the title treatment rolls.

The aftermath confirms Kirk’s ongoing struggle with playing by the rules when the lives of friends or crew members are at stake.

For all its swooping spacecraft, fist fights, daring escapes and exchanges of gunfire, “Star Trek Into Darkness” feels at its core like something meant to bore into its characters’ deepest motivations. What lives outside us, it seems, isn’t nearly as exciting as what lives within us.

Hence one plotline imagines the father of a sick child tempted to sacrifice his principles in exchange for life-saving treatment, while another imagines the choice confronting a daughter disgusted by her father’s actions.

Those seeking only adventures in outer space might find these tales tangential, but they’re central to the “Star Trek” enterprise. Outer space was never a mere destination. Instead, it’s a vehicle crafted by Roddenberry to move the human race towards a greater good, often by means of somewhat situational ethics.

The original “Star Trek” television series, in which the Starship Enterprise completed just three years of a five year mission, frequently tackled controversial issues of the day — from war to interracial marriage.

So it’s fitting that “Star Trek Into Darkness” is propelled by an act of terrorism, complete with twin towers, that’s met with malevolent militarization.

Throughout the film, cameras bounce back and forth between close-ups of characters’ faces and action scenes filled with various forms of transport, weaponry and technology. In the realm of action-adventure flicks, there’s little that distinguishes “Star Trek Into Darkness” — other than a refreshing lack of machine guns and such.

The best parts of “Star Trek Into Darkness” are conversations between characters that reveal the recognition of their own shortcomings, or the shortcomings of others, with humor and wit. More than the universe they inhabit, their inner worlds are changing. That’s the journey it’s most fascinating to follow.

Benedict Cumberbatch (center) as John Harrison. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

“Star Trek Into Darkness” was written by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof — who’ve capably captured Roddenberry’s humanistic bent. It stars Chris Pine (Capt. James T. Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock) and Benedict Cumberbatch (John Harrison). It’s released by Paramount Pictures.

The film is rated PG-13 and runs 2 hours and 12 minutes long. There’s mild swearing and a quirky scene showing an odd threesome sharing a bed. Despite lots of fighting, the film has little blood and gore. A Klingon loses a limb or two, but that’s to be expected.

I’d worry less about kids being exposed to battles aboard and between spaceships than kids being bored because they’re not that intrigued by the storyline or old enough to appreciate the nuance of characters’ personalities.

Parents eager to share their love for all things “Star Trek” can treat the family to Phoenix Comicon, taking place Memorial Day weekend (May 23-26) in downtown Phoenix. A new web series called “Star Trek Continues,” which picks up where the original television series left off, will premiere during this year’s event.

Click here to learn more about “Star Trek Into Darkness” and here for information on Phoenix Comicon 2013. Click here to learn more about the filmmakers’ partnership with The Mission Continues, an organization serving post-9/11 veterans.

Last year's Kindness Walk was held at The Phoenix Zoo. Photo courtesy of the MISS Foundation.

The MISS Foundation is an Arizona-based non-profit organization with a staff of dedicated volunteers who come to the aid of thousands of families all over the world who have experienced the heartbreak of the death of a child, at any age, from any cause.

The day’s activities bring together individuals, groups and local businesses dedicated to honoring lost children and committed to advancing safety education.

Registration begins at 8am at Cesar Chavez Plaza, located between Washington and Jefferson Streets at Second Avenue in Phoenix. The walk starts at 9am.

The Safety Fair runs from 8am to 1pm and includes various resources for safety education. Families also will create Kindness Booths displaying their particular cause along with kindness projects completed in memory of their children.

A fundraising campaign is accessible online through First Giving. MISS is also creating a Memorial Wall where pictures or symbols of children will be posted and memorialized. The mobile Memorial Wall will be on display at future MISS events.

Learn more about the event.

The MISS Foundation’s community outreach includes support groups for adults and children, crisis intervention, one-on-one counseling services, retreats and a network of ancillary groups working together to assist parents, siblings and grandparents.

Learn more about the MISS Foundation in our 2011 series, “Finding Purpose in Grief.”

Alexa Salas, Raymond S. Kellis High School student body president gives the student address at graduation May 16. This is a screen shot from the live-streaming video from the ceremony.

Can’t make it to a high school graduation because your son or daughter is graduating the same time as a niece or nephew? Or maybe it’s too expensive for all the relatives from the other side of the country. You could have someone send pictures taken from faraway seats. Or you could be on the phone with a family member who gives you the play-by-play. “They’re walking to their seats. They’re sitting down. Um, I can’t tell where (name of student) is because they are all wearing the same thing.”

Meh.

What if you could watch it on live video with close-ups and multi-camera coverage? Peoria Unified School District is live-streaming seven high school graduation ceremonies. The videos will be available on the district’s YouTube channel after May 24 to share with relatives who missed the live stream. Find the graduation schedule for Peoria here.

You could view it on your smart phone at the ceremony for the close-ups and leave your own video camera at home. Also, like a DVR, you can go back in time a few minutes to see something again on the video and then switch back to the live feed. Peoria Cox Cable Channel 99 will broadcast the high school graduations throughout the summer.

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The 2013 Flinn Scholarships have been awarded to 20 Arizona seniors who will attend an Arizona public university next Fall. Sponsored by the Flinn Foundation,  the scholarship includes tuition, room and board, international study-related travel, personal mentoring by university faculty and other benefits.

The requirements are, as one would expect, quite demanding: high scores on the SAT and ACT, good grades, extracurricular activities, etc. This year 653 high school seniors applied for 20 spots. Find all the Flinn Scholar information here.

Here are the 2013 Flinn Scholars:

• Sarah Bosch, Flagstaff High School, Flagstaff
• Meera Doshi, McClintock High School, Tempe
• Spencer Elliott, Mountain Pointe High School, Phoenix
• Elizabeth Hannah. Sunnyslope High School, Phoenix
• Luis Hernandez, Vista Grande High School, Casa Grande
• Alden Hill, BASIS Tucson North, Tucson
• Rohan Murty, Desert Vista High School, Phoenix
• MeiLin Ossanna, University High School, Tucson
• Savannah Pearson, Hamilton High School, Chandler
• Steven Reed, Cactus High School, Glendale
• Julianna Renzi, Prescott High School, Prescott
• Jacob Rockland, Canyon del Oro High School, Oro Valley
• Swaroon Sridhar, Mountain Pointe High School, Phoenix
• Sanjay Srinivasan, Hamilton High School, Chandler
• Jakub Stechly, Hamilton High School, Chandler
• Samantha-Su Taylor, Bioscience High School, Phoenix
• Cooper Temple, Prescott High School, Prescott
• Suhitha Veeravelli, Desert Vista High School, Phoenix
• Ethan Wilson, University High School, Tucson
• Augustus Woodrow-Tomizuka, Sonoran Science Academy, Tucson

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Red Means Stop Traffic Safety Alliance , an organization whose mission is to prevent death and injury due to traffic accidents, is offering a scholarship to benefit families who cannot afford driving school for their teen drivers. The scholarship provides driver training through DrivingMBA in Scottsdale and Chandler.

During the spring of 2013, Red Means Stop awarded scholarships to nine students. Applications will be accepted during the summer for the next round of scholarships.

Photo courtesy Schnepf Farms.

Festivals that are just “peachy”:

Peach Festival (May 18-19 & 25-27). All ages. Peach picking, live entertainment, hay rides to the orchards and food sampling. 7:30am-4pm. Free. Schnepf Farms, 24810 S Rittenhouse Rd, Queen Creek. 480-987-3100 or schnepffarms.com.

Peaches n’ Play (Sat-Sun May 18-June 2). All ages. Pick-your-own peaches and other farm activities. 6am-4pm peach picking, 8am-1pm activities. $4/person, ages 3 & under free; $1.50/lb peaches. Vertuccio Farms, 4011 S Power Rd, Mesa. 480-650-6606 or vertucciofarms.com.

Enjoy some stargazing:

Family Star Night (Sat May 18). All ages. Kids activities, science demos, stargazing, Scout Corner and telescope demos. Family activities begin at 6:30pm; program begins at 7:30pm. $7, $15 per scout (includes packet & patch), ages 3 & under free. Challenger Space Center, 21170 N 83rd Ave, Peoria. 623-322-2001 or azchallenger.org.

Public Star Party (Sat May 18). All ages. Members of the Saguaro Astronomy Club will have telescopes large and small set up and available for public viewing. 7-9:30pm. Free. Thunderbird Conservation Park, 67th Ave & Patrick Ln, Glendale. glendaleaz.com/parksandrecreation.

Spring Star Party (Sat May 18). Ages 6 & up. Family-friendly presentation, hands-on activities, snacks and more. 7:30-9:15pm. $20 ($16 members). Preregister. Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N Galvin Pkwy. 480-941-1225 or dbg.org.

Go to a museum for free today:

International Museum Day (Sat May 18). All ages. Special events raise awareness of how important museums are to the community. Some museums offer free admission. Call the individual museum to confirm. azcama.com.

Adopt a new friend today:

Empty the Shelters (Sat May 18). All ages. 12-hour adopt-a-thon challenge to have all dogs, cats, puppies and kittens adopted. Goodie bags for the first 100 people, music, low-cost vaccination and microchip clinic and more. 8am-6pm. Adoption fees range from $5-$50. AAWL & SPCA, 25 N 40th St. 602-273-6852 x116 or aawl.org.

Visit our entire calendar of events.

Watch Mala on Arizona Midday (Channel 12) each Friday!

Each Friday, Calendar & Directories Editor Mala Blomquist joins Destry Jetton, Jan D’Atri and the rest of the on-air team for Arizona Middayto share her picks for the weekend’s family events. The show airs at 1pm.

Harkins Theatres Tempe Marketplace 16 participates in the Summer Movie Program. Photo: Lynn Trimble.

It’s getting hard to keep up with all the movies coming out these days, but you’ll get a second chance to see some popular family films this summer. Several local theaters are presenting summer movie programs with rock-bottom pricing — UltraStar Cinemas summer program tickets are as low as 50 cents per movie when purchased as a series of 10. Here are details on programs we found:

Harkins Theatres

Harkins Theatres launches its 2013 Summer Movie Fun program later this month, giving families a way to enjoy one film a week for 10 weeks for less than $1 per film per person. Summer Movie Fun season tickets are on sale now, and you can purchase them at participating theaters.

The program begins May 27 at the following Harkins Theatres in the metropolitan Phoenix area: Arizona Mills 24, Arrowhead Fountains 18, Chandler Crossroads 12, Chandler Fashion 20, Christown 14, Gateway Pavillions 18, Metrocenter 12, Norterra 14, North Valley 16, Park West 14, SanTan Village 16, Scottsdale 101 14, Shea 14, Superstition Springs 25 and Tempe Marketplace 16. It launches May 31 at Harkins Arcadia 8 Theatre.

Only children ages 12 and younger, and the adults who accompany them to the theater, can participate in the Summer Movie Fun program. Movies are shown at 9:45am, and you’ll need to select a theater and day of the week when purchasing your season passes.

The 10 films included in this year’s Summer Movie Fun program are Mirror Mirror, Hotel Transylvania, Madagascar 3, The Lorax, Ice Age 4, Rise of the Guardians, Charlotte’s Web, Megamind, March of the Penguins and The Pirates. If seats remain after season passes are sold, you may be able to buy single tickets to a particular film for $2/person.

UltraStar Cinemas

UltraStar Cinemas at Scottsdale Pavilions and the new Multi-tainment Center at Ak-Chin (in Maricopa), offers a Kids’ Summer Series that includes 10 films for $5 (kids under age 3 are free). Tickets are available at the theater. When space allows, you may be able to get tickets for $1/person for a single movie.

The Kids’ Summer Series starts on May 27, and includes the following films: Mirror, Mirror, Hotel Transylvania, Madagascar 3, The Lorax, Ice Age 4, Rise of the Guardians, Big Miracle, Journey 2, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days and The Pirates: Band of Misfits.

Studio Movie Grill

Studio Movie Grill in Scottsdale presents a Dollar Movie Classics series that features one classic or family-friendly film each month with a ticket price of just $1/person. They’ll be showing The Blues Brothers tonight at 7:30pm. Other films in the series include Goonies, Ghostbusters and It’s a Wonderful Life.

Cinemark Theatres

Cinemark Theatres offers a Summer Movie Clubhouse program that includes 10 movies for $5. Clubhouse punch cards can be purchased online or at participating theaters only while supplies last. Cinemark has five Arizona theaters, including Cinemark Mesa 16. When extra seats are available the day a film is being shown, you may be able to buy individual tickets for $1/person. All Summer Movie Clubhouse films are rated G or PG. They’re shown at 10am.

Consider getting a group of friends together to buy summer movie program tickets so you can take turns being the movie mom or dad. Some weeks, you’ll get to take your own and others’ kids to a movie. Other weeks, you’ll get to send your kids to the theater with another parent — giving you a bit of free time.

With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.

We have three family four packs of VIP seating tickets for a special sneak preview screening at 7pm Wednesday, May 29 at AMC Desert Ridge 18.

“After Earth” is rated PG-13 and opens in theaters Friday, May 31. Watch the trailer.

Deadline for entries: Noon on Wednesday, May 22.

Visitor explores the "We Are! Arizona's First People" exhibit at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. Photo: Lynn Trimble.

Many adults don’t realize that there’s more than one kind of Native American, according to Jaclyn Roessel, education director for the Heard Museum, which has locations in downtown Phoenix and North Scottsdale. More than 20 tribes are indigenous to Arizona, she says.

Families eager to explore Native American cultures will find plenty of resources at the Heard Museum — which has a diverse collection featuring works by tribes throughout the Western hemisphere. Think Hawaii, the Pacific Islands, Alaska, South America and more.

“Indian people don’t have a single culture,” says Debra Utacia Krol, a member of the Xolon Salinan tribe who works at the Heard Museum. Consider, for example, varying views on snakes. “Navajo people have a very strict spiritual prohibition against doing anything with snakes,” she shares. “Salinan people put rattlesnakes on baskets and use their rattles for musical instruments.”

Some people prefer the term “Native Americans” while others favor “American Indians” — but it’s a little like comparing two pronunciations of the word “potato,” reflects Krol. “It’s more important to know what tribe I am.” More than 4o tribes currently live in Arizona and New Mexico, she adds.

“There used to be bands or clans of people related by common language and culture,” explains Krol. ”A lot of the cultural groupings in Arizona have split off.” Now you’ll find several Apache tribes, for example, and several Ak-Chin tribes.

Like all groups of people, various tribes are different in some ways and similar in others, reflects Krol. Noting one similarity, Krol shares that “Indian country has always had freedom of religion.”

It’s important for Arizona families to learn more about Native American cultures, says Krol. Think of it as learning respect for your neighbors, suggests Krol. “We have to learn about each other to get along together.” It’s a lot of fun, she says, to see how tribal children live.

The Heard Museum’s “Home: Native People in the Southwest” exhibit, which explores arts and cultures of Native people from the distant past to today, features reflections by artists and Native community members on the importance of family, community, land and languages.

“We Are! Arizona’s First People” highlights the histories and cultures of 21 Native cultures in Arizona through interactive displays and hands-on activities, so it’s an especially fun part of the museum to explore with children and teens.

This "Every Picture Tells a Story" canoe at the Heard Museum holds several children. Photo: Lynn Trimble.

It’s located near “Every Picture Tells a Story,” an exhibit that demonstrates how wildlife and vegetation in seven geographical regions, including the Southwestern Desert and Icy Arctic Tundra, inspire American Indian artists.

Several special summertime deals make exploring the Heard Museum especially affordable this time of year. The museum is celebrating International Museum Day this Saturday, May 18, by offering non-members 2-for-1 admission for groups of 2 or 4 visitors.

Those who purchase a summer pass can enjoy unlimited admission to the Heard Museum from June 2 through Sept. 2. An individual summer pass costs just $25 and summer passes for a family of four run just $50. During September, interested summer pass holders can apply the cost of their pass to a regular membership.

Teachers save 50% off adult admission during Teacher Appreciation Month (June). And active-duty military personnel and their families get free admission to the Heard Museum (and other participating museums) from Memorial Day (May 27) to Labor Day (Sept. 2) through a national Blue Star Museums program.

The Heard Museum in Phoenix is home to an American Indian Veterans Memorial, where families can pay tribute to American Indian military members in a Memorial Day ceremony taking place from 1:30-3pm. Additional special events are held throughout the year.

During June and July, the museum presents “Hot Fun in a Cool Place” — complete with dancing, films, live music and crafts — every Friday through Sunday. During July, Target sponsors free admission to the museum every Sunday.

When you visit the Heard Museum’s North Scottsdale location, you’ll see both a permanent exhibition titled “Choices and Change: American Indian Artists in the Southwest” and a temporary exhibition called “Stories Outside the Lines: American Indian Ledger Art.”

After the U.S. government relocated Native people (mostly Plains Indians) to reservations during the late 19th century, the Indians continued their tradition of recording events — using ledger books and pencils provided by traders and government agents instead of animal hides and natural pigments.

The Heard Museum North Scottsdale is holding a related “Your Story Ledger Art Contest” through July 31, which gives parents a creative way to engage children in extended learning beyond time spent at the museum.

Works of Native American art exhbiited at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. Photo: Lynn Trimble.

This fall, says Krol, the museum will host a “Cuentos Populares“ exhibit featuring Latino children’s book art — partnering with Radio Disney to present book readings and book giveaways. Several past exhibits are available online.

Krol notes that Arizona is also home to several tribal museums — including the Ak-Chin Him-Dak Eco-Museum and Archive located in Maricopa, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Huhuga Ki Museum in Scottsdale and the Yavapai-Apache Nation Cultural Resource Center in Camp Verde.

Families interested in learning more about the Hohokam people can visit the Pueblo Grande Museum Archeological Park in Phoenix. Click here to explore additional Heard Museum offerings.

Ages: preschool (with assistance) and above.

Materials: 4” X 4” squares of brown, black, white, and other colors of construction paper, paper scraps, large or small craft sticks, glue sticks or white glue, markers, scissors, roll of masking tape or round plastic lid, pictures of pets.

Instructions:

Look at pictures of a pet of your choice and study its features.

Choose a color of construction paper that matches that pet’s color.

Use a role of masking tape or a round plastic lid to trace a 3” diameter circle on the paper.

Cut the circle out.  Draw a face on it and/or cut out parts of the face from scraps and glue them on the face.  Mouths can be made to open and close.

Glue the face on the stick.

TEACHABLE MOMENTS

Banfield Pet Hospital is sponsoring a “Companion Animals” month at the museum.  Throughout the month, programs will be offered on pet care.  Before you begin this project, you might want to share the following silly poem by Kenn Nesbitt which can be found in his book My Hippo Has the Hiccups.

I Bought a Pet Banana

I bought a pet banana
and tried to teach him tricks
but he wasn’t any good at
catching balls or fetching sticks.

He could never catch a Frisbee,
And he wouldn’t sit or speak,
though we practiced every afternoon
and evening for a week.

He refused to shake or wave or crawl
or beg or take a bow,
and I tried, but couldn’t make him bark
or get him to meow.

He was terrible at playing dead.
He couldn’t jump a rope.
When he wouldn’t do a single trick
I simply gave up hope.

Though I liked my pet banana,
I returned him with regret.
Boy, I sure do hope this watermelon
makes a better pet.

View more crafts.

About the Children’s Museum of Phoenix

The mission of the Children’s Museum of Phoenix is to engage the minds, muscles and imaginations of children and the grown-ups who care about them. With hands-on, interactive exhibits designed for children ages birth to 10, the Museum focuses on learning through play, with emphasis on early childhood education and school-readiness.

The Children’s Museum of Phoenix is located at 215 N. 7th St. in downtown Phoenix, at the southeast corner of Seventh Street and Van Buren in the historic Monroe School Building. In 2011, it was named one of the “10 Best Children’s Museums” by Parents magazine.