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In This Issue:

	ECHO AFTER DARK: FeBREWary
	RENT ECHO - New Website
	Expansion Update
	ECHO Summer Camps
	Seasons Of Change
	Fish And Beer?
	Volunteer Appreciation Week
	Conservation Correspondent
	CAFÉ SCI: Population Boom!
	Planning Ahead

FEBREWARY: The Science of Beer
ECHO’s February AFTER DARK PROGRAM

By Linda Bowden, Lifelong Learning Coordinator & Educator

You don’t want to miss this one! ECHO’s popular After Dark series continues on Thursday, February 9, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., where the topic will be beer. Five tastings from a selection of 15 world-class beers and, a signature ECHO After Dark tasting glass are included in the admission price. There will be three presenters with topics on adding aromas to your home brew, the science of beer and the history of beer. And no beer event is complete without classic pub games - so we’ll have a few of those to enjoy as well. This evening will turn a neophyte beer drinker into a near-master brewer, or at the very least, teach us to appreciate the nuances of a good malt beverage. This evening is specifically designed for the ECHO 21+ crowd. Cash Bar with snacks to purchase provided by Sugarsnap. Reservations/Tickets call 1.877.324.6386 option 7. $20/person general; $15/ECHO member. Each additional tasting, beyond the five included with admission, is $1. Click here for more info.

Special MEMBERS ONLY event: A Beer and Cheese pairing workshop with Anne Whyte and Montserrat Almena-Aliste from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at ECHO, February 9 in the classroom. Limited to 26 people. $40 per ticket. Ticket also covers the cost for the ECHO After Dark FeBREWary event beginning at 7 p.m. 877-324-6386, option 7. Limited availability - call NOW. Pictured: A grouping of various beers.

Burlington's Newest, Greenest, Waterfront Venue!

By Rachel Connor, Events Manager

The expansion and creation of ECHO's new lakeside spaces is almost complete. In the months to come ECHO with have a variety of new LEED certified, green event spaces for any special event. Beginning in May, you can get "get closer to the lake" by hosting your next function in our Outdoor Cafe and Rain Garden, that sits just inches from Lake Champlain. In September, the Lakeside Pavilion, Community Room, and Board Room will be available for conferences, meetings, weddings and rehearsal dinners. Please visit our new website: www.RentEcho.com to see more about our new facility. If you would like to schedule an appointment to have a private showing of the space and to discuss your event, please contact me, Rachel Connor, at 802-864-1848 ext. 143.

EXPANSION UPDATE

By Julie Silverman, Director of New

It may be getting colder outside, but ECHO's been heating up the Lakeside Pavilion construction scene with hardhat tours, new floors, eco-insulation, and the electrical installation for our new audiovisual (AV) system that resembles a concert hall pipe organ more than electrical conduit. Read more...

Photo: Framing the soffit for the moveable wall. Credit: J. Silverman, © ECHO

MEET NINA AND ECHO SUMMER CAMPS

By Molly Loomis, Director of Education

Nina Ridhibhinyo (rid-a-bin-yo), has joined ECHO as the Group Programs Coordinator and will oversee our Youth Stewardship Initiative grant, including launching summer camps, overnights and teen environmental summits at ECHO. Prior to ECHO, Nina was a site leader for the Burlington Kids After School Program at Champlain Elementary, where she developed curriculum and managed enrichment programming. She has a Bachelors of Science in Environmental Science from Brown University and experience managing a community garden, running a green jobs training program for high-risk teenagers, and teaching environmental stewardship to middle school students. Nina is thrilled to bring a new suite of youth programs to ECHO, starting with week-long youth day camps this summer!

Photo: Nina Ridhibhinyo, Group Programs Coordinator. Credit: G. Smart ©ECHO

SEASONS OF CHANGE

By Gerianne Smart, Director of Marketing and Communications

Where is winter? This unusually mild winter has us all scratching our heads and wondering where all the snow and ice have gone. Currently this winter is the 17th least snowiest on record, according to the National Weather Service. So believe it or not, there have been 16 milder ones in the past. ECHO’s current traveling exhibit, Seasons of Change, has gotten a lot of attention early on because of our mild winter. The exhibit is about climate change, specifically in the New England area. Come on down and see for yourself how slight changes in water temperature, deforestation and other variables can affect the climate across the globe. Visit our Seasons of Change webpage for more information. The exhibit will be at ECHO through March 25.

ARE THERE FISH IN YOUR BEER?

By Brian Swisher, Environmental Exhibit Specialist

As a craft beer lover and avid home brewer I was thrilled when Linda Bowden, ECHO's Life-Long Learning coordinator, announced that she was planning the beer-themed event called FeBREWary: The Science of Beer. As an aquatic biologist, I'm always seeking ways to link our local aquatic fauna to things that people really identify with and care about - like beer! READ MORE...

Photo: Freshwater Drum credit: J. Silverman © ECHO

VOLUNTEER/INTERN APPRECIATION WEEK

By Amanda VanVranken, Volunteer Coordinator

January 9th-15th was a fun filled week at ECHO as we celebrated our dedicated and hard working volunteers and interns. Staff prepared breakfast and lunch every day, ECHO members chose door prizes for lucky volunteers, and gift bags were given out as way to say “THANKS!” to our essential volunteers and interns who help carry out ECHO's mission on a daily basis. Brian Swisher, Environmental Exhibit Specialist, wrote a blog posting on one particular volunteer that you might find interesting and sheds some light on how important each and everyone who becomes part of the ECHO team is to delivering the kind of exceptional programming and visitor experience our guests expect.

Interested in becoming an ECHO intern or volunteer? Read more on our “join” webpage or contact me directly at 802-864-1848, ext. 116

Photo: Three stellar ECHO volunteers. Credit: Amanda VanVranken © ECHO 2012

CONSERVATION CORRESPONDENT: OWLS

By Bridget Butler, Conservation Correspondent at ECHO and WPTZ

Snowy owls from the extreme north in the arctic tundra have been showing up in northern states across the United States. In Vermont and the North Country alone, over two dozen sightings have been reported since October, and birders have been on the chase to catch a glimpse of this beautiful owl from the Champlain Islands all the way south to Brattleboro. I wasn’t able to capture one of these beautiful birds on film for my recent story on WPTZ New Channel 5, but I got some help from my birding buddies who supplied photos of the birds they saw so far this winter. Many thanks to Pat Folsom, Ron Payne, Don Clark and John Vose for allowing the use of their photos in the story.

Watch the news story about the Snowy Owl.

Pictured: Snowy Owl at Dead Creek in Addison VT. Photo Credit: John Vose of Jericho Hills Photography

CAFÉ SCIENTIFIQUE: POPULATION BOOM!

By Linda Bowden, Lifelong Learning Coordinator and Educator

Coming March 8, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. we’ll have our Café Scientifique: Topic 24: Population Boom: How Many Earths Do We Need? We’ve invited John Seager, President of Population Connection, to lead us in conversation about this topic. What environmental crises will develop with our rapidly growing world? Why is the population still growing so rapidly if the fertility rate has been declining for the past half-century? Population Connection (www.popconnect.org) is the preeminent grassroots group for population education and advocacy with 140,000 members and supporters, including 50,000 participating educators.  Population Connection has been engaged in population issues for more than four decades.

Come to ECHO's After Dark Cafe Scientifique program to join in the dialogue about this major societal issue! Suggested donation $5. Event for 21+ with cash bar and themed drinks opens at 6.30 p.m., discussion begins at 7 p.m.; free light hors d’oeuvres sponsored by VT Sigma Xi, Scientific Research Society. 1-877-324-6386

PLANNING AHEAD

There is always something exciting going on at ECHO! Below are just a few of the offerings for the upcoming weeks. As always, we encourage you to visit our website’s calendar of events for a complete listing of all the happenings at ECHO.  All of these activities are free for Members and included with ECHO admission.  For information call 1.877.324.6386.

EVERY DAY
10:30 a.m. Animal Demonstration
11:30 a.m. Let's Investigate! Educational Program
12:30 p.m. Show Me Something Good, Educational Program
2:00  p.m. Making A Difference, Educational Program
3:00 p.m. Animal Demonstration 

Tuesday, February  7, 11 a.m. Science and Stories: Shadows - Did the groundhog see his shadow this year? What makes a shadow anyway? Join us to explore this question and have some fun with shadows.

Thursday, February 9, 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. Special MEMBERS ONLY event: A Beer and Cheese Pairing Workshop. Led by Montserrat Amena, Ph.D., a cheese taste specialist and instructor at the Vermont Artisinal Cheese Institute, and Anne Whyte, a nationally credentialed beer judge and owner of Vermont Homebrew Supply, tasters will enjoy six regional and international cheeses and five rare and exclusive beers. Tasters will leave with a knowledge of cheese and beer styles, ingredients, and production techniques. Limited to 26 people. $40 per ticket. Ticket also covers the cost for the ECHO After Dark FeBREWary event beginning at 7 p.m. 877-324-6386, option 7. Limited availability so call NOW!

Thursday, February 9, FeBREWary, the Science of Beer. An ECHO After Dark evening on the topic of beer. From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Price: $20 non members/$15 ECHO members. See article above.

Tuesday, February  14, 11 a.m. Science and Stories: Owls - What makes an owl an owl? Come discover the special adaptations that make an owl an excellent night time hunter. We will pick apart an owl pellet and put together owl creations to take home.

Tuesday, February  21, 11 a.m. Science and Stories: Colors - Where have all the colors gone? Vermont winters are long and a bit drab. It is time to bring a burst of color into our lives. Join Elizabeth to investigate and experiment with all the colors of the rainbow.

February 25 – March 6, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Vacation Blizzard. Come help us create a blizzard in ECHO this February vacation.  Activities will include: burying a moose in paper snowflakes, sharing your snow stories to make a pop-up museum and at 12:30 p.m. daily we’ll be using homemade catapults to start an indoor snowball fight!

*There will be no Science and Stories on Tuesday February 28th during winter vacation week.

FRIENDS & SPONSORS

SUPPORT ECHO ON TOURISM SITES

ECHO, like so many of Vermont's attractions, relies heavily on the tourism audience. Many travelers these days are choosing destinations via the Internet and through online reviews by the general public, so we could use your grassroots support! Please visit your favorite travel website and add another positive voice to our attraction reviews — and encourage relatives or friends who have experienced ECHO to do so too! This greatly helps bring folks to both Vermont and to ECHO. The following are a couple of websites to get you started — thanks in advance!

IgoUgo
Find & Go Seek
TripAdvisor
Yahoo! Travel
Yelp!

Photo: © Jeff Clarke, 2007

WPTZ/NewsChannel 5 Live at ECHO

Mark your calendars to watch WPTZ/NewsChannel 5 on the second Thursday of every month, when Chief Meteorologist Tom Messner traditionally broadcasts his Precision Weather forecast live from ECHO during "First at Five," "5:30 Now," and "NewsChannel 5 at 6PM."

The Burlington Free Press

ECHO Update Feedback
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Update Staff:

Editor: Gerianne Smart, Director of Marketing and Communications
Design: Travis Cook, Information Technology Coordinator