Education Through Entertainment

Illinois School Assembly Showcase - Wow, What Fun!

Posted on Fri, Sep 2, 2011

Rolling into the Labor Day weekend here and couldn’t be more ready for a great holiday weekend!
We just came back from Chicago where we had a booth set up for the Centre East School Assembly Performers Showcase in Skokie, Illinois. Everyone had a great time! It was exciting to reconnect with many of our past clients from schools all over the greater Chicago area as well as to meet many new friends.
A lot of scheduling was furiously taking place in the frantic swirl of events, as performers hustled on and off the main stage plying their wares, while representatives of schools hurried back and forth among the different booths visiting with all the myriad types of presenters and picking their shows for the year. We met with school parents and teachers and other reps as well as many library staff also seeking exciting shows for their sites.
I have to say I also love meeting with different performers. It is amazing the variety of talent available to schools and the vast array of different types of school assemblies they offer! In addition to the science, social studies, creative writing and character issue and anti bullying type school assembly programs offered by Mobile Ed Productions, there were musicians, story tellers, multicultural dance groups and a host of others. We met with many old friends and made new friends of many others.
Joining us in our booth were performers Dick Buchholz and Tom Swenson, both long time Mobile Ed alum's. Dick, of course, is well known as one of the foremost naturalists and live animal authorities on the school assembly scene. With twenty five years or more of experience bringing natural science into schools nationwide, Dick, who is the past president of the Chicago Herpetological Society, is now resident in the Chicago area and available to bring his animals to schools and libraries there throughout the year. Tom Swenson also sat in with us for the day. Tom is a great guy who has performed science programs for Mobile Ed in the past. But now he calls on his great acting background to offer midwestern schools a chance to enjoy awesome visits to their school by Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison and Mark Twain. All three great school assembly programs are also available throughout the year in Illinois, Wisconsin and other midwest states. Tom had a fun time helping out with some of the snakes and other reptiles Dick had on display during the show.
All in all it was a great time for everyone! Now if you missed the event and are still seeking dates for school assembly programs for your school or library, it would be prudent to call soon. Many dates are now filled, but, at least for now, we do still have available dates for most programs. But that won’t last long! So give us a call as soon as you can!

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School Assembly Showcase Just Days Away! See You In Skokie!

Posted on Mon, Aug 29, 2011

It's Monday here in Michigan and we are all very excited even before having any coffee! It's because it's almost time for the Centre East School Assembly Performer Showcase in Skokie, Illinois!

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Illinois School Assemblies - September Special Now Available!

Posted on Fri, Aug 19, 2011

Psst! Want to make $100?

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School Assembly Showcases - Come to Chicago!

Posted on Mon, Aug 8, 2011

The summer is winding down, and although we have not yet seen Labor Day, there are already schools starting classes in some states, and getting ready to start in others. Like a big sleepy bear coming out of hibernation, the world of education is stirring again, and with that awakening comes a realization in many places that the school assemblies have not been scheduled for the coming year yet.

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Illinois School Assemblies - Finding The Right Show

Posted on Mon, Aug 1, 2011


Finding the right school assembly or enrichment program for your school can be tough. There are a lot of performers, acts and companies from which to choose. How do you know which is best for your needs? How do you know who is professional and who is not, who is talented and who is not, who will meet your needs and budget, and who will not?

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Global Warming, School Shows and Hell-Benders!

Posted on Tue, Jul 12, 2011

It seems that the Appalachian region of the United States has the greatest diversity of salamanders in the world. Apparently more than 70 different species live there in parts of Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky. And in some ways, this makes the Appalachians a key place in the study of global temperature fluctuations and the possible effects of these fluctuations.

Here is a great piece from Smithsonian Science:
http://smithsonianscience.org/2011/07/hellbender/

It seems that one particular type of salamander, the Hell Bender, breathe through their skin making them particularly sensitive to changes in the environment. Which makes them a particularly good point of study for scientists interested in the effects of global warming.

Kids love this stuff! And an example such as this provides several different opportunities to teach. You can use a story like this to lead into a discussion of reptiles and amphibians and natural science in general. You can use it to talk about the interaction between different species and the environment. And you can use it to begin an examination of global warming patterns and the effect on living organisms.

In fact, information like this is exactly what we use in a couple of our science assemblies. Either makes for a great educational supplement but also a very entertaining time for the entire school.

Animals and The Environment deals specifically with how different environmental issues affect different species around the globe. We have two presenters for these programs. Jon is based in Michigan and works across the Midwest and on the East Coast teaching kids through school assemblies about the animals of the world and introducing them to the great “critters” that travel with him. Meantime, Dick is resident in the Chicago area and dazzles kids in Chicago land and lower Wisconsin with his thirty years of knowledge, enthusiasm and excitement, as well as his great bunch of animals and reptiles.

Our Changing Climate is a school assembly that examines the conditions we describe as “global warming” and some of the possible causes. The presenter is Jeff who is also based in Chicago but who makes regular forays into Texas, Ohio, Michigan and out East. So schools in New York or New Jersey looking for great school assemblies in this area have just as much opportunity to view one of these programs as do schools in Michigan or Ohio or Illinois.
Regardless of where you live, these are interesting times we live in. Did you ever expect to hear that the North Pole was expected to be ice free one summer very soon?

It is important that our children learn about these issues. Finding teachable moments is one way to inform them. Great school science assemblies provide another!

Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN.
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Portable Planetarium Tours in Michigan, Ohio and Midwestern Schools

Posted on Mon, Jun 27, 2011

Sky Dome Planetarium is one of the most popular school assemblies in the country. And why wouldn’t it be? For kids there is hardly a more awesome experience than to enter their gym and discover a huge silver dome occupying half the room and standing some sixteen feet high. And then to enter the dome itself through a mysterious tunnel, sit in the dark inside and then to be treated to a wondrous journey into outer space and beyond! We have never met a child (or adult!) that did not think this a totally awesome experience.
With curriculum based instruction embedded thoroughly throughout the program this great school assembly is also a huge hit with teachers, as it reinforces educational benchmarks in several areas.
And so we are happy to alert you that we have made more than one tour available this year in the midwest. Michigan and Ohio schools, being right in our backyard so to speak, ave always had great opportunities for scheduling this show, but with extra performers now available, Skydome will be able to visit several states that have not had great access to this portable planetarium school assembly before.
Sky Dome (sometimes confused with the older Star Lab program) is available this school year to midwestern schools in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minneapolis and even Texas, Utah, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota!
For those in other parts of the country, do not despair, as we have additional performers resident on the East and West coasts and available to service schools both in California and the eastern states of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and all of New England.
So let the stars shine over your school!

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Chicago School Assemblies - Character Counts in Algonquin, Illinois!

Posted on Fri, Jun 24, 2011

Issues of Character have become an important part of the education of our children all over the country. Several years ago an initiative was launched to develop good character in children through the Inspector Iwannano program. This drive features the philosophy that there are different pillars of character such as Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Caring, Citizenship, and Fairness. Not a bad package of virtues, to be sure.

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Illinois Schools Love Rojo’s School Assemblies!

Posted on Fri, Jun 3, 2011

We have been back in the Chicago area this week with Sky Dome Planetarium, our portable planetarium school assembly, presented in schools there by the exceptional Rojo. He just appeared at a school in Joliet, Illinois, and judging by the reaction I think they liked him!

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School Assemblies Chase Away the Summertime Blues!

Posted on Thu, Jun 2, 2011

Depending upon what part of the country you live in, school may be already out, about to finish this week, or reaching it's end soon. Kids will be underfoot for awhile and most parents will soon be looking for ways to keep them occupied.

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