Big Brain Academy, an educational video game for Wii, packs a powerful mental punch
I have a confession to make. I didn't buy this game for my kids. I didn't even buy it. My husband bought it for me because it looked like a fun, geeky trivia game we could both play on my kids' Nintendo Wii. Little did we know it would be an educational tool that our kids would adore.
Big Brain Academy for Wii is designed to test and challenge five reasoning skills (Identify, Compute, Visualize, Analyze and Memorize). It does this by testing you with a variety of games of in each category. On the surface it looks like a barrage of quirky games designed to process reasoning and mental quickness. The genius of the game is that it effectively measures your growth in each of the categories as you play them and even accurately measures your progress over time. The games are visually attractive and very easy to understand.
Thelma G. Spencer Park Rochester Hills
Spencer Park (or Thelma G. Spencer Park) is situated on 113 acres of land off of John R. Road between Auburn and South Blvd in Rochester Hills. My family has quite a personal history with Spencer Park. My husband was an avid visitor to the park even before we met and he even worked there for 2 summers as a college student. The park is very close to our home but we would make special efforts to go there even if we didn't live very close to it.
Like training outdoors? "The Stairs" at Bloomer could be the best workout in Oakland County
My husband and I have always loved Bloomer park. Their giant playscape at the front of the park was a natural attraction for us once we started having kids. Playscape aside, Bloomer is a neat place full of manicured paths and history to explore. My husband was always drawn to the giant stone shelter near the playscape and well-constructed steps that lead down the giant hill behind it. We've always been fitness buffs (we met in a gym back in '98). Back then our workouts, especially his, revolved around biceps, triceps and treadmills. Now, we love trips to the park and other ways to pursue fitness.
Our trips to Bloomer usually resulted in one of us watching the kids at the playscape while the other would "tackle the stairs." We by no means invented this workout. We see a lot of people doing various workouts using the 200 step (approximate) staircase to nature. The people that use these steps to work out kind of have an unspoken bond. Between the nods and the smiles, I can't figure out if we're communicating "I can't believe how awesome this workout is" or "I can't believe I'm not the only crazy person doing this." Either way, it's great to see people pushing themselves outdoors in the fresh air and nature and not stuck at a Lifetime surrounded by 50 million watts of technology.
Arts, Beats, & Eats festival director speaks on open carry issue
I contacted Jon Witz, director of Ford Arts, Beats & Eats regarding the open carry dilemma with the upcoming Labor Day weekend festival.OCM: What is the latest update on your stance regarding the open carry issue?
Jon: We're going to continue to take the position that no firearms are allowed, but if the city of Royal Oak can't enforce that, we're sure that there will be a few with handguns. This will be a very small amount of people. The way the state law
Continue reading: Arts, Beats, & Eats festival director speaks on open carry issue
OCM interviews Heritage Fest organizers
I sat down with Lorraine McGoldrick and Lois Golden, organizers of the upcoming Rochester Area Heritage Festival to ask some questions about the changes we will see, the lineup of events, and more!
OCM: How does this event differ from the Hertiage Fest in May?
RAHF: This is the same Heritage fest that was held in May. We had traditionally been in the Memorial Day weekend for 32 years. So we're doing the 33rd Rochester Area Heritage Festival at Rochester College on a non-holiday weekend. We had looked at the option for the past 5 years and we felt that it was time to try a different weekend and a different location. If you have really nice weather (Memorial Day) all of your volunteers want to go up north to their cabins so the non-holiday weekend really offered us some new input.
OCM: I think you have made a good choice because now you're not competing at all, even with Arts, Beats & Eats.
