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SAM TING
Tom’s classic and arguably most loveable character Sam Ting explains, in his heavy Norwegian accent, the weasel family and its habitats and adaptations, as well as how certain animals became domesticated. Sam has his audience roaring with laugher as he dresses up volunteers in ear muffs, flippers, a nose plug and more to demonstrate how wild animals are perfectly suited to their habitats.
Sam also invites his audience on stage to help him illustrate the devastating impacts of pollution on wildlife.
Sam’s message is sobering, but he delivers it with the perfect element of humor and entertainment, including his weasel rap with original choreography.
Ages: Grades K – 6; adults
Duration: 35 minutes
GEORGE GIBSON
Private Georg Gibson, U.S. Army, volunteer for Corps of Northwestern Discovery, shares his firsthand experience with Captains Lewis and Clark on their infamous early 1800s journey across the US to the Pacific Coast.
Pvt. Gibson, a skilled hunter, boatman and sign-language interpreter, explains the party’s transportation equipment, weapons functionality, and goals, including finding and documenting new species of plants and animals.
The expedition also sought to meet with Native Americans it encountered along the way, trading goods and culture.
Pvt. Gibson’s account of Northwestern Discovery uses timeline-accurate clothing and props to illustrate the technologies of the time, putting a real face to a historically significant figure and expedition.
Ages: Grades K – 6
Duration: 30 minutes
PETE BOGG
Pete and his Amazing Water Machine explain how waste and pollution impact our natural water resources. Whether residential, industrial or agricultural, waste travels through our rivers and quickly contaminates our water, demonstrated by Pete with the use of food coloring.
Then, with his tabletop burner, Pete demonstrates water’s natural cleaning cycle (distillation) by evaporating the polluted water into steam, which he captures through a series of glass tubes, converting it back into water through condensation. The clean water lands back into a clean glass, to the “oohs” and “aws” of his young audience.
Pete also shares tips and tricks to use less water in everyday activities such as brushing teeth and flushing those “fancy flushdy toilets,” and the importance of ensuring water resources stay clean for humans and wildlife.
Ages: Grades K – 6
Duration: 23 minutes
GUNNAR
In “Water You Doing?” German immigrant Gunnar explains how he sourced water for his family in the Dakota Territory in the early 1800s.
He shares what life was like for the settlers and how they were dependent on a robust supply of clean water. He shows his audience how to extract water from a well, how to properly site an outhouse, and how to heat washing and cooking water.
Gunnar’s family prioritizes minimal use, reuse and recycling of all of their water, preserving the precious resource.
Ages: Grades K – 6
Duration: 16 minutes