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Dumpster Doug
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Dumpster Doug travels the earth searching for the sources of air, land and water pollution and then shows K-6th graders that small changes make a huge difference when it comes to protecting the earth’s natural resources. Students learn about the 4 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Read so they too can become Eco-Superstars in the funniest and most magical environmental assembly show your school will ever see! Watch a dirty soda can become brand new and filled with soda as it is magically recycled in just 30 seconds. Witness trash being turned into useful products instantly as it enters a recycling bin and see a scrap of paper turned into something valuable (a one-hundred-dollar bill) instead of being tossed aside. Tons of audience participation keeps kids on the edge of their seats while the teachers laugh along with all the great lessons. It’s the perfect assembly show for Earth Day celebrations or anytime of the year. Support your Green School goals and give your students a resource conservation show they will talk about for months on end with the Dumpster Doug Ecology Show.
Kevin Kurtz
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Kevin Kurtz is an award-winning nonfiction children's author (www.kevkurtz.com) of over 25 books for kids grades kindergarten to middle school about science, nature, and technology. Kevin can provide up to five 45-minute presentations during an all day school visit. He can do different presentations for each grade level. For assembly programs, Kevin can read and discuss one of his books or present highlights from more than one book. The highlights can be focused on specific science curriculum topics, on the process of writing nonfiction, or be a grade level-appropriate “greatest hits” selection from my books (You can see the list of highlight topics here: http://www.kevkurtz.com/school-visits.) The book reading and highlights presentations will also include sections on how Kevin became a children’s author, the process he uses to write nonfiction, and a Q&A session at the end. Kevin can also do writing workshops for smaller groups with a maximum of 30 students per program. Workshops are for grades 3 and up. Kevin will lead students through the process of researching, writing, and editing nonfiction and work as a group to produce informational texts. Writing workshops can be extended to a week-long residency where Kevin will lead groups of students through the steps of creating nonfiction texts in more detail.
Magic Shadows by Catapult
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Catapult is a Shadow Illusion performance company. They were propelled into the limelight and into the homes of millions of people around the world as finalists on America’s Got Talent. Heidi Klum and Howard Stern were two of their very first fans and now they’ve added many thousands of fans around the globe, touring the USA, Europe, and Asia with their hit show, Magic Shadows. Their shows are an amalgamation of dance, theater, illusion and storytelling. Their stunning visuals coupled with whimsy, heart and athleticism create a spellbinding show perfect for all ages. Catapult is easy to produce, delightful to work with, and they love to engage with communities and audiences. Catapult is available for corporate and private events to entertain, engage and educate. They've created custom work for a variety of organizations including Girl Scouts, United Way, YMCA, Association of Mental Health Workers and more. Catapult also offers incredible educational and community outreach for 3rd grade and up, including workshops, residencies, and school shows that can be tied in to school curriculums such as Language Arts, Math, Science, and SEL. School shows are 45-60 minutes and can be structured as a lecture/demonstration, full dance performance, or as a show + Q+A. They offer study guides for Elementary through High School age groups. There are no language barriers with the show, so ESL and hearing-impaired students will enjoy the show the same way other kids do! Their educational outreach also offers opportunities for students to become a part of the magic themselves and perform live with Catapult during their public performance, either by learning and performing Catapult’s very own “Angel Heart” piece, or by creating a piece of their own during Catapult’s brand new Fantastic Creatures and How to Make Them residency week.
Tay Fisher Anti-Bullying Program (T-A-Y)
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The T-A-Y Anti Bullying prevention program focuses on students talking, asking questions and showing empathy towards others Tay will lead the topic by discussing the 3 types of bullying: Physical, Verbal and Cyber Bullying T stands for TALK: Tay will encourage ALL students to not be afraid to talk to adults, parents, teachers, principals, older siblings etc when they come across bullying. This can include them being bullied or if they see it happening to others (bystander). Tay will end with a quick activity from a volunteer to demonstrate the importance of TALK. A stands for ASK QUESTIONS: Tay will encourage ALL students to not be afraid to ask questions if they need to find a place to feel safe. We will discuss places for students to go to and things for them to do to escape any negativity going on in their lives which includes being bullied. Y stands for YOU: All students will be asked to repeat after Tay, "IT'S NOT ABOUT ME, IT'S ABOUT YOU." This will teach students about the word EMPATHY. Showing empathy towards each other is important. Flipping the two letters in the word EMPATHY "EM" will result in the word "ME". That's how Tay will teach the concept "IT'S NOT ABOUT ME, ITS ABOUT YOU. Volunteers will be selected to participate in a life changing experience with Tay that they will never forget .
Daniel Nicky
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Social Studies Songwriting Assembly with Mr. Nicky (Virtual Program) Mr. Nicky is an accomplished songwriter and certified teacher bringing a fresh approach to teaching social studies by creating parody songs. His YouTube channel (Mr. Nicky’s World History Songs) has gained over 20 million views and 130,000 subscribers by helping students recall and review their lessons on ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome. Mr. Nicky’s virtual assemblies (via Zoom/Google Meet/etc.) meet state learning standards in both social studies and ELA. The students write a history song together throughout the course of the hour as Mr. Nicky keeps the time fun and interactive by singing his hits, showing how he creates his channel, taking questions and having a blast celebrating ancient civilizations!
Roxie Munro
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"Visual Thinker" Roxie Munro is the Author/Illustrator of more than 55 award-winning nonfiction, STEM/STEAM, and concept books for children, many using "gamification" to encourage reading, learning, and engagement. Recent books include Maze Play; A Day in the Life of the Desert; Lizards at Large; ABCity; Anteaters, Bats & Boas (2 starred reviews); Dive In; Rodent Rascals (3 starred reviews); Masterpiece Mix; Market Maze; Slithery Snakes; Busy Builders; EcoMazes: 12 Earth Adventures (starred reviews; Smithsonian's Best Science Book for Children); Hatch! and many others. Awards include The New York Times Ten Best Illustrated; Outstanding Science Trade Book, NSTA & CBC; Society of International Librarians Honor Award; Bank St College Best Books List w/Outstanding Merit; the Bank St Cook Prize Honor for STEM, others. Fourteen of her paintings have been published as covers of The New Yorker magazine. Programs are lively multimedia presentations with beautiful highly illustrated visuals, short videos with sounds, and great fun facts and information. The most popular program for PreK-2nd grade is "Nature," in which lots of the world's most interesting animals are discussed. For 3rd grade and up, the most requested is "Creating a Nonfiction Picture Book" - learning how to research, use sources, and develop critical thinking. Making the book: Storyboard, thumbnails, roughs, finished art and text. Editor's involvement. Designing a cover. For a complete menu of all of Roxie's programs, with grade levels, visit https://www.roxiemunro.com/school-visits.html Roxie's art is exhibited widely in the US in galleries, museums and is in numerous private, public, and corporate collections. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA, presented a 4-month solo exhibition: "Inside-Outside Dinosaurs: Creating a Book with Roxie Munro" and she has two books represented in "Building Stories," the children's book exhibition curated by Leonard Marcus at the National Building Museum in Washington DC (up through Feb 2026). Her children's book art, texts, and processes are in the Kerlan Collection (Univ of Minnesota), De Grummond Collection (Southern Mississippi), the New York Public Library, and the Mazza Museum (Findlay, Ohio), among many others. Roxie studied at the University of Maryland, the Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore), earned a BFA in Painting from the University of Hawaii, attended graduate school at Ohio University (Athens), and received a Yaddo Fellowship. She lectures in museums, schools, libraries, conferences, and teaches in workshops. See complete resume and lots of free fun and educational activities for children to download at https://www.roxiemunro.com/
Caravan to Cairo
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Caravan to Cairo transports you to the exotic realms of the Arabian Nights, bringing you authentic unique folkloric dances from North Africa to the Middle East. This delightful dance journey through the Near East, choreographed by Samara, one of today’s finest international performers of Middle Eastern dance, offers a diversity of engaging styles and rhythms, lavish, colorful costumes, and a charming story theater adaptation of a timeless Arabic folktale. A brief, participatory dancing instruction and a Q&A session round off the entertainment. This program can also provide artist workshops and residencies in addition to classroom teaching.
Billy Floyd
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My name is I’m Billy Floyd and I'm the arena host and in-game announcer for the Adirondack Thunder, Union Men’s and Women’s Hockey, and the Glens Falls Dragons. Since 2021, I’ve been blessed enough to entertain and connect with fans all over the Capital Region and North Country -- especially kids! This year, I’m bringing that same energy and positivity right into schools. When I visit, we play trivia and fun games (just like we would do at the arena or ballpark for in-game entertainment) and I give away prizes. But here’s the thing... every trivia question and game comes with a valuable lesson that kids can really take with them. I also share stories from my own life about why failing and losing isn’t the end, how to bounce back, and why it’s so important to support others when it’s their time to shine. We talk about surrounding yourself with people who lift you up, doing what you love, why creativity is key, and why taking action matters more than anything else. Basically, I want to help students build confidence, stay positive, and have fun while learning how to succeed on and off the field. It's critical for my presentations to be extremely interactive because I want all of the kids to be involved in the "show" and this is my favorite way to connect with everyone. I'm beyond thrilled to bring the good vibes to your school!
Tom Sugar - Toe Sugar Tunes
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Tom Sugar is a recently retired music educator from Long Island, New York with thirty-five years of public school teaching and administrative experience. He has continued his career as a BOCES Arts in Education performer. Over the years, he has often written music for specific occasions and special events, and has also published pieces for the Elementary Chorus, all while adhering to a mission of melody and message. His career in composition evolved from the shared curriculum, with classroom demonstrations of the songwriting process for his students and the subsequent school-wide, choral group, and festival performances of the completed works. To go along with his proven Brotherhood/Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Earth Day/Ecology workshop/performance events, he has a brand-new offering supporting the "Leader in Me" leadership program. This primary level character education program supporting the Leader in Me curriculum entitled, "The 7 Happy Healthy Habits Workshop/Performance Program," will be available for the first time during the 2026-27 academic school year. The program features short storytelling and seven integrated sing-a-long original songs to highlight and reinforce the seven values and principles embodied in the Leader in Me leadership and life skills program. This day-long musical workshop/performance event is crafted to actively involve the early primary grades (PreK-3rd) and to help supplement the Sean Covey bestselling book for elementary students, "The 7 Habits of Happy Kids." If your students have been introduced to this wonderful resource, or the associated curriculum video shorts, this communal assembly event can be just the thing to further motivate and inspire your school community, though the songs will stand alone to create a meaningful celebration of the curriculum. The Workshop Day will typically consist of morning sessions with grade level/large groups where students will be introduced to, and taught the catchy, easy to learn call and response song material, followed by an afternoon Performance/Participation Assembly program. Topical artwork from your school will be included in the presentation if provided via email in .jpeg format labeled with student first names at least two weeks prior to the event. As a Leader in Me school community, you can use this extended learning component any time throughout the school year or to kick-off or anchor your empowerment program as part of an introduction or year-end culminating celebration
Liberty Science Center
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STEM education has never been more important, and Liberty Science Center understands educators' needs to teach science and technology in alignment with the newest national standards. The Science Center is a premier field trip destination and provider of STEM experiences for students, educators, and families. Our STEM education programs can enhance your science instruction with engaging activities online, at LSC, or at your school (within a 60-mile radius). We also offer highly interactive professional development programs for individual educators or groups. Start planning your fun and engaging day of science learning with Liberty Science Center. For more information about our offerings call 201.253.1214 or email mmcdonald@lsc.org.
Mat Heagerty
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I'm a kids' graphic novel author who over the last two years has presented at over 350 elementary and middle schools across America. My interactive, fast-paced presentations focus on the power of collaboration and the strengths of neurodiversity. As a dyslexic, one of my favorite things to present on is the strengths of neurodiversity. My books like Lumberjackula, Martian Ghost Centaur, and Indoor Kid have received starred reviews from most major trade journals, named to several state lists, and made the ALA best graphic novels list. I also used to work in higher ed at Boise State University where I taught classes on publishing and creative writing. I'd love to come speak with your students about creativity and persevering through learning differences!
The Storycrafters
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Award-winning, internationally renowned musical storytelling duo Barry Marshall and Jeri Burns PhD, aka, The Storycrafters, present performance, workshop and residency programs integrating storytelling with numerous areas of curriculum. Storytelling has been documented in multiple studies as a support and building block of literacy. Schools that participate in storytelling programs see marked improvement in student language, reading and creating writing abilities. Storycrafters programs work to enhance student literacy through the storytelling art form. Storytelling also acts as an active support to many areas of curriculum, including character education, history, multicultural and international studies, and more. The Storycrafters have been working in schools and other venues since 1991, building a vast repertoire of stories and workshops to introduce storytelling and use it to enhance many areas of student learning. In addition, The Storycrafters present workshops for parents and teachers introducing the many ways storytelling can enhance student development in the home and classroom. With 30+ years of experience in the storytelling art form and its many use in the classroom and school environment, The Storycrafters are a valuable resource for any school community looking to enhance literacy while supporting many areas of curriculum.