Employee Newsletter: April 2025 by Orlando Science Center

April 2025

CELEBRATING OUR VOLUNTEERS

April is National Volunteer Appreciation Month, and we are thrilled to honor our incredible volunteers who help us achieve our mission to inspire science learning for life.

Over the past 12 months, 667 dedicated people have donated over 33,110 hours of their time to support our programs and events.

Our volunteers play a vital role in both front-of-house and behind-the-scenes operations. Whether greeting guests with a smile, helping with special projects and events, or performing engaging science demonstrations for people of all ages, their contributions are invaluable.

OSC Volunteers create positive memories through fun and excitement, making every visit to the Science Center special.

Our volunteers’ efforts not only enhance the visitor experience but also foster a love for science in our community.

This year, OSC Volunteers will celebrate together by crafting OSC totes and journals on the weekends. Volunteers and interns will also be invited to a picnic in Loch Haven Park, a coffee chat with JoAnn Newman, and a field trip to the Orlando Museum of Art!

We hope you will join us this month in thanking our volunteers for being an essential part of our team!

OSC UPDATES

WINE AND DINE TIME

The 13 Annual Science & Wine event is back on Saturday, April 26, featuring a night of tasting, learning, and supporting the Orlando Science th Center’s mission to inspire scientific curiosity and discovery for all ages.

This fundraiser features wines from the world’s top wine regions paired with cuisine from local Central Florida chefs

UCF’s College of Hospitality Management will also be hosting interactive tasting

experiences to explore the connection between our sense of smell and our sense of taste

Tickets are now on sale at www.osc.org/science-wine-and-more

KIDS NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM

Kids Night at the Museum started in Fall 2020 as a way to provide safe and fun informal learning opportunities for children during the pandemic (and give caretakers a bit of a break!) Since then, we’ve been running Kids Night at the Museum multiple times throughout each year

Kids Night at the Museum is geared for kids ages 5 through 12 and features a “kids-only” experience in our exhibit halls after hours

Kids also see live shows, do experiments in classrooms, and enjoy a pizza party together! The next Kids Night at the Museum is on Sat, April 19

SPARKS

Lauren Bansberg

Ella Binyam

Tatum Byrnes

Madison Carden (3)

Carissa Clay

Mary Cloer (3)

Teresa Conde

Ashley Connelly

Sharlene Figueroa

Emily Frese

Maggie Gamson

Jillian Gelfand

Simone Gomaa (3)

Yami Gonzalez-Mendoza (4)

Danielle Gordon

Beth Hall (3)

Caprice High (3)

Mandy Holden

Ollie Hull (3)

Spencer Jones

Michael Kmietowicz (2)

James Kondrach

Katyiana Leblanc (3)

Kirby Lee (2)

Zach Lynn

Yangelis Martinez (3)

Andrianna Mcleod

CJ Munroe

Valentine Murphy (4)

Liz Osiecki

Amanda Paneque

Steve Pascucci

Jaki Redmond

Ivan Santana

Jess Spelman (4)

Margaret Spencer

Brittany Squier

Grant Summers

Mercedes Suttles

Julia Trippe

Patrick Walsh

STAR

JOHN MAHONEY

John received multiple nominations this month, and each one of them highlighted his positivity and his welcoming and joyous personality One nomination says "his infectious attitude lights up the room and has an incredible way of making everyone smile!"

When John joined the team, he also brought with him a knowledge of 3D printing and problem solving skills. These abilities have helped in designing, setting up, and troubleshooting the 3D Printing camps this year

John's kindness and positive energy is appreciated by his colleagues, and his "unwavering sense of humor makes a real difference in the Education team's morale."

Thank you, John!

SPARK WINNER

MICHAEL KMIETOWICZ

APR 2 WED Employee Field & Fun Day

APRIL

NATURE MONTH

Take a walk on the wild side! Let's learn about the world around us with unbeleaf-able hands-on activities

12 SAT Storytime Cinema: Bambi APR 5 & 6 SAT & SUN Bank of America Weekend APR 13 SUN $15 Day APR 12 & 13 SAT & SUN Great Outdoors Weekend

Curtis Kinetic Science Competition

Kids Night at the Museum

Availableshowsinclude:

Superhuman Body

Superhuman Body: World of Medical Marvels takes audiences inside the wonders of the human body and the incredible breakthroughs in science and bioengineering that are changing the course of human health.

Told through the inspiring stories of the researchers, doctors, scientists and patients behind these ground-breaking medical innovations, the film shows the extraordinary ways our bodies work –and how science and technology help us to intervene when things go wrong.

Please check the website for the most up-to-date daily theater schedule @ www.osc.org/theaters

COMMUNITY COMMENTS

We are seniors (88 & 93 years old!) and thoroughly enjoy the Science Center. Thank you

Ilove allthe updatesyou have done!My boys and I’ve been cominghere since 2012andit’s been amazingevery time!

Thankyouforalltheextras likeSuperheroWeekendand theStuffySleepover!Allthose thingsmakeourexperience evenmorespecial.

I love the interviews and experiments you do on podcasts like Tom and Dan!

I’m always impressed with the amount of wonderful quality experiences available to my grandkids when we visit OSC. Theylove it there.

TheOSCEducatorsalwaysdoa superbjob,andthekidsgettouse theirknowledgetoseewhatarealworldscenariomaybelikeasan engineer.

FISCAL MONTH OF MARCH 2025

10,386 15,995

4,292

May

Stress Awareness Month

April is recognized as National Stress Awareness Month to bring attention to the negative impacts of stress. It has been held every April since 1992 to raise awareness of the causes and cures for our modern-day stress epidemic.

Stress is attributed to many negative outcomes at work

According to the Hamm Clinic, in 2023:

There were 875,000 cases of work-related stress, depression, or anxiety.

Stress, depression, or anxiety accounted for 49% of all work-related ill-health cases.

54% of all workdays lost due to work-related ill-health were attributed to stress, depression, or anxiety.

Managing stress is an important part of a healthy lifestyle

TheNationalInstituteofMental Healthrecommendshelpful practicesformanagingstress throughthe"GREAT"model.

Gratitude

Relaxation

Exercise

AcknowledgeFeelings

TrackYourThoughts

W E L C O M E T O T H E T E A M

ROCKETS & WORLD RECORDS

In the recent Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Comic, Orlando Science Center was featured for our 2024 Guinness World Record! On November 16, 2024 we had the most people successfully flying paper rockets simultaneously – with 262 rocket launches!

Participants had to fly their paper rockets within 15 seconds of the launch signal. A flight was considered

successful when, because of the air pushing the rocket, the paper rocket flew upwards or horizontally. Only successful flights were counted, and participants only had three opportunities for success. (We did it first try!)

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