WellMed Presents Grandparents Day At The San Antonio Children's Museum

Sept. 3, 2009 - PRLog -- San Antonio, TX – Grandparents and their grandchildren can experience three floors of fun for free this Grandparents Day thanks to the WellMed Charitable Foundation.

The Foundation is underwriting admission to the San Antonio Children’s Museum (305 E. Houston) for grandparents and grandchildren on Sunday, Sept. 13 between the hours of Noon to 2 p.m. Admission is normally $7 for adults and for children ages 2 and older.

Officially recognized by Congress and President Jimmy Carter in 1978, Grandparents Day is celebrated on the first Sunday after Labor Day. It is a intended to provide grandchildren with an opportunity to tap into the wisdom of the senior generation, for grandparents to show love to their children’s children, and for everyone to celebrate lives well lived by people often affectionately  referred to as Mee-maw and Po-poh, Na-na and Paw-paw, and even ’welo and ’ita (short for abeulo and abuelita).

It’s the Museum’s first Grandparents Day sponsorship. As part of the promotion, the Museum will give away door prizes of two Grandparent Memberships, each good for a year of free admission for one or two grandparents and up to four grandchildren per visit.

The San Antonio Children’s Museum offers three floors of interactive fun, educational exhibits for hours of family friendly entertainment. Attractions include:

•   H-E-B Kids’ Market and Kids Cafe – Aisles of faux fruit, vegetables, household goods and more that kids can cart to working checkout scanners. The learning fun continues with children serving the pretend meals they prepare in the attached Kids’ Café.

•   The Bubble Ranch – Put yourself inside a giant bubble, like something out of Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory! Voted Kids’ Choice favorite by … kids!

•   PowerBall Hall – Learn basic science principles using pulleys, gears, flippers, blowers and launchers to project balls through a maze of tubing to a centralized, elevated ball drop. When the drop is full, an alarm sounds and balls shower down into the exhibit!  

“Many grandparents and great-grandparents are at the center of care at WellMed,” said Dr. George M. Rapier III, Board Chairman of the WellMed Charitable Foundation. “Time spent socializing with family and friends is essential to healthy living. We are pleased to partner with the San Antonio Children’s Museum to offer this opportunity for so many seniors and youngsters in our community.”

“We strongly encourage grandparents to bring their grandchildren to the museum to learn and play together,” said Vanessa Lacoss Hurd, Executive Director of the San Antonio Children’s Museum. “Grandparents are a tremendous resource for their grandchildren and the value of this relationship can’t be understated. We are extremely grateful to the WellMed Charitable Foundation for its generosity and support of the Children’s Museum.”

If you go …
The Museum provides parking validation for one hour of free parking at the Mid City Garage located at 240 E. Houston Street. Guests must present their parking ticket at the Museum front desk to be validated.

Free parking is available at the VIA park and ride at St. Paul’s Square near Sunset Station.  Transportation to the museum via the downtown trolley system is available by taking the yellow trolley and transferring to the red trolley at the corner of Commerce and Alamo Plaza.  The red trolley drops off directly in front of the museum.  Trolley fare, with a transfer, is $1.25 each way for adults and $.62 each way for children 5-11 years. Children under 4 years are free.

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About The WellMed Charitable Foundation: The WellMed Charitable Foundation (www.wellmedgives.org) is a non-profit 501(C)3 organization that supports seniors and their caregivers in our community with special emphasis on wellness, prevention and living with chronic illness. Established in 2006 by Dr. George M. Rapier III, a noted geriatrician and the Chairman of the Board, the Foundation has contributed more than $3 million to the San Antonio community.

About The San Antonio Children’s Museum: The San Antonio Children’s Museum is a non-profit 501(C)3 organization dedicated to providing engaging hands-on experiences where Kids Play to Learn and Adults Learn to Play. The Museum is a unique and innovative educational resource dedicated to those we serve. Through interactive play, we inspire a journey of life-long learning, ultimately enriching lives and positively impacting the San Antonio community and beyond.