When are you going to reopen?
We opened indoors for scheduled field trips in June 2021 and by appointment to the general public starting July 9! You can book your visit at https://spi.schedulista.com.
What new things can we look forward to inside SPI Spot?
Returning visitors will notice that we have installed a new Dynamic Floor area with support from Park National Bank; this is a touchless, interactive element that works using sensors. There is also space for kids to record their questions for local doctors (which may answered and featured in video in our space). There is a veterinary play area for giving animals exams, vaccines, doing grooming or looking at samples under our microscope (cat hair, heart worm, a tick, frog blood and more)!
Returning visitors will notice that we have installed a new Dynamic Floor area with support from Park National Bank; this is a touchless, interactive element that works using sensors. There is also space for kids to record their questions for local doctors (which may answered and featured in video in our space). There is a veterinary play area for giving animals exams, vaccines, doing grooming or looking at samples under our microscope (cat hair, heart worm, a tick, frog blood and more)!
What public health protocols will be in effect per SPI's policies?
You can expect limits on capacity for some time, made possible through the use of appointment-setting software.
All participants over age 2 will be expected to wear masks inside our shared community space, even our team members who are fully vaccinated.
We installed a picnic table outside for visitors to use when consuming snacks and beverages, thanks to a mini grant from the Youth Philanthropy Initiative at the Knox County Foundation.
Meanwhile we've increased our cleaning frequency and have "batched" our play items for regular rotation and disinfection.
This is a learning space, so our staff will encourage and find ways to recognize and reward pro-social behavior inside SPI Spot - including hand hygiene, proper mask wearing, kindness to others who may still be uncomfortable in public settings, and patience with our staff and others.
You can expect limits on capacity for some time, made possible through the use of appointment-setting software.
All participants over age 2 will be expected to wear masks inside our shared community space, even our team members who are fully vaccinated.
We installed a picnic table outside for visitors to use when consuming snacks and beverages, thanks to a mini grant from the Youth Philanthropy Initiative at the Knox County Foundation.
Meanwhile we've increased our cleaning frequency and have "batched" our play items for regular rotation and disinfection.
This is a learning space, so our staff will encourage and find ways to recognize and reward pro-social behavior inside SPI Spot - including hand hygiene, proper mask wearing, kindness to others who may still be uncomfortable in public settings, and patience with our staff and others.
What can my family do while we wait for our scheduled visit to SPI Spot?
1. GO TO CAMP! SPI is offering 17 sessions of summer camps in June and July for kids who COMPLETED grades K through grade 5 in the 2020/2021 school year, made possible with support from Ariel Foundation. You can see the camp descriptions here: https://www.spi-mountvernon.org/spi-summer-sessions-2021.html. You can register here for sessions with remaining spots.
All students in Mount Vernon City Schools - regardless of financial need - can receive a full scholarship to select sessions of SPI's summer camp roster this year thanks to a partnership with the district!
2. VISIT another ASTC institution for free, if your family holds an annual membership at SPI! Your annual membership is a passport to free admission at hundreds of other institutions across the country participating in the ASTC Passport Program (make sure to get the participation details online in advance of any visit to another organization). This INCLUDES COSI - with whom we've negotiated a temporarily enhanced benefit; members should have received information about this by mail; if you did not, please contact us at spispothelpers@gmail.com to update your contact information and learn more.
3 READ! Read after a hike to Honey Run Waterfall. Read to wind down after a fun day at Hiawatha Water Park. Read as an escape from reality. Read about inspirational people - scientists, athletes, activists, artists, leaders. Mount Vernon elementary students can participate in the Summer Reading Olympics to earn prizes once school begins again.
All students in Mount Vernon City Schools - regardless of financial need - can receive a full scholarship to select sessions of SPI's summer camp roster this year thanks to a partnership with the district!
2. VISIT another ASTC institution for free, if your family holds an annual membership at SPI! Your annual membership is a passport to free admission at hundreds of other institutions across the country participating in the ASTC Passport Program (make sure to get the participation details online in advance of any visit to another organization). This INCLUDES COSI - with whom we've negotiated a temporarily enhanced benefit; members should have received information about this by mail; if you did not, please contact us at spispothelpers@gmail.com to update your contact information and learn more.
3 READ! Read after a hike to Honey Run Waterfall. Read to wind down after a fun day at Hiawatha Water Park. Read as an escape from reality. Read about inspirational people - scientists, athletes, activists, artists, leaders. Mount Vernon elementary students can participate in the Summer Reading Olympics to earn prizes once school begins again.
What information do I need to read and agree to as a condition of participation in SPI programs?
Please see our Assumption of Risk and Waiver of Liability: www.spi-mountvernon.org/liabiliywaiver.html.
Please see our Assumption of Risk and Waiver of Liability: www.spi-mountvernon.org/liabiliywaiver.html.
When you closed indoors due to COVID, I still had time on my membership. What are you going to do about that?
We will extend your membership appropriately to adjust for the amount of time you could not access the indoor space at SPI.
We have also negotiated an enhanced reciprocal agreement with COSI in which named SPI members in your household can enjoy FREE admission to COSI for the immediate short term! We hope you will take advantage of this temporary member benefit as you await SPI's indoor reopening (and well beyond). We understand you may encounter some issues as you endeavor to book visits to SPI Spot, since capacity will be initially be limited inside our space.
We hope that in this interim period of indoor closure you have also enjoyed our free SPI to Go programming; this initiative paired FUN outdoor outings for families with free themed bags of take-home experiments, books, crafts, discussion prompts and more - made possible with support from Ariel Foundation, United Way, Knox County Foundation, and individual donors and volunteers like you!
We have also negotiated an enhanced reciprocal agreement with COSI in which named SPI members in your household can enjoy FREE admission to COSI for the immediate short term! We hope you will take advantage of this temporary member benefit as you await SPI's indoor reopening (and well beyond). We understand you may encounter some issues as you endeavor to book visits to SPI Spot, since capacity will be initially be limited inside our space.
We hope that in this interim period of indoor closure you have also enjoyed our free SPI to Go programming; this initiative paired FUN outdoor outings for families with free themed bags of take-home experiments, books, crafts, discussion prompts and more - made possible with support from Ariel Foundation, United Way, Knox County Foundation, and individual donors and volunteers like you!
If your question hasn't been answered here, please feel free to contact us to ask. You can email Stephanie, our executive director, or you can message us privately through Facebook messenger via our page at www.facebook.com/spispot .