education

Port Huron Museums Announces Discovery City Exhibit Leaving Soon

UPDATE: Port Huron Museums has extended Discovery City until April 8th.

The Port Huron Museums have announced one of their most popular and long running exhibits will be closing soon. 

Discovery City along with their mascot Edison the giant dog, provides a playscape for children that sparks the imagination as well as teaches about historic landmarks and other facts about the Blue Water Area. There are replicas of the McMorran stage, Vantage Point Farmers Market, Lakeside beach and more. 

Discovery City is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10AM – 5PM. February 19th will be the last day to enjoy this wonderful playscape. 

Admission is $5 per child, and $15 per family. Each session lasts for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell

State Reps Disagree With Gov Whitmer’s Plans For Cyber Schooling

When it comes to education and the ways things are taught in today’s world, a vast amount of information is shared and taught via the internet or digital online courses. Our public education also utilizes digital means to accommodate certain students under particular circumstances, as we saw during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Michigan Reps. Jaime Greene and Kathy Schmaltz are urging  Gov. Whitmer to withdraw her budget proposal that would drastically cut funding for students in Michigan who attend online or cyber schools. There are currently more than 20,000 students who attend cyber schools. 

Gov. Whitmer is calling for a 20% per-pupil reduction for online schools. These schools help educate those who are unable to attend in person due to a variety of reasons. Some are medical reasons that prevent them from being educated in person.

Rep. Schmaltz says, “Many students excel in this environment and they deserve to reach their fullest potential.”   

Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell

Marysville Cheer Team Claim Third Consecutive League Title

The Marysville Vikings competitive cheer team is performing extremely well this season. The Vikings are currently ranked in the top ten in the state in Division 2.

This week the team entered the final MAC meet tied for first place with Chippewa Valley. The competition was held at Grosse Pointe North where the Vikings walked away with the first place victory with a final score of 757.32. Second and third place went to Lamphere with a score of 751.8 and Chippewa Valley with a score of 740.06. 

The competition saw Marysville set school records for Round 1, Round 3, and total scores. 

If you would like to check out the Marysville Vikings competitive cheer team in person, their next competition will be Monday, February 13th starting at 6 p.m. at Richmond for their last regular season meet. Districts begin February 18th in Fenton.

More details on Vikings 1st place victory at: thesportsreportmi.com

Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell

Elevators Wouldn’t Be The Same Without Alexander Miles

We all use, or have used an elevator in our daily lives at some point. They make our lives easier by eliminating the use of stairs and granting ease of access to those who may use a wheelchair, crutches, or the like. 

Elevators of old didn’t have automatic doors, they would have to be manually closed before riding. Due to human error, many individuals lost their lives by falling down elevator shafts. 

A man by the name of Alexander Miles, an African American inventor, almost lost his daughter to such an incident. That incident inspired Miles to develop a solution to the elevator door problem, and in 1887 he took out a patent for a mechanism that automatically opens and closes the elevator doors. 

So the next time you hop on an elevator and don’t fall down the shaft, thank Alexander Miles. 

Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell

Source: history.com

East China School District Chili-Heart 5k Coming Soon

The East China Educational Foundation (ECEF) is hosting its 11th annual Chili-Heart 5K run and 2-mile walk this month. 

The goal of the event is to provide an endowment fund through the Community Foundation of St. Clair County, to be utilized for enrichment activities for the students of East China Schools District. Proceeds from the race will support ECEF grants for district teachers and staff.

The race will take place in a hybrid style, either in-person or virtually. Last year’s race was done entirely virtual, so with the success of that, it was decided to bring it back as an option this year. There will be chili and bread/snacks available to keep the runners warm and energized. 

The event begins February 12th, at 9 a.m. Registration is now open, with the cost of $15 for youth 17 and younger, and $25 for those 18 and up. Onsite registration is $30. 

To register online, visit: runsignup.com/race/mi/saintclair/chiliheart5k.

Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell

February 1st is Unclaimed Property Day in Michigan

The Michigan Department of Treasury is the custodian of assets and works that get abandoned or forgotten by residents. To spread awareness so that individuals may reclaim lost assets, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has declared February 1st, Unclaimed Property Day.

The unclaimed properties that individuals can inquire about include dormant bank checks, valuables left in safe deposit boxes, stock certificates, and uncashed checks. 

The process for recovering you or a relative’s assets is free. According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, more than $2.87 billion dollars in unclaimed property was returned in 2021. In Michigan, nearly $137 million was returned to their rightful owners. 

To find out if you have unclaimed property, you can visit Michigan’s Unclaimed Property website to search for a specified name. Or you may call (517) 636-5320 between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday – Friday.

Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell