More than 90,000 babies competed for a spot as the 2021 Gerber Spokesbaby, but only one could prevail! And his parents have a fantastic backstory, too. Four-month-old Zane Kahin from Florida is this year’s winner after his mom beat cancer and the odds.
Erin Kahin and husband Mike hoped to have kids, but they weren’t sure if Erin could conceive naturally after she faced treatment for breast cancer, including a double mastectomy. But Baby Zane surprised the family and entered the world on February 3!
“Zane is a little comedian – he loves to crack himself up and even wakes up laughing. His cheerful attitude, captivating giggles, and playful smile can light up any room!” his parents noted.
As for the prize, the Kahins received $25,000 in cash, free Gerber products for up to one year and a wardrobe provided by Gerber Childrenswear. You can buy a bodysuit or t-shirt design inspired by Zane and the company will make a product donation of equal value to the charitable organization Delivering Good. Zane will also keep busy as the “Chief Taste Tester” for new baby food products and serve as Gerber’s “Chief Growing Officer.”
The Gerber Spokesbaby is an annual award inspired by a 1928 company contest to find a face to represent their baby food. Artist Dorothy Hope Smith’s charcoal sketch of a neighbor’s child perfectly captured the spirit and it’s been the face of all Gerber packaging since 1931.
Editor’s Note: The National Zoo reopened in May 2021. Admission is free, but visitors must register for timed-entry passes here.
The 163-acre National Zoo has been captivating visitors since way back in 1889, when it was called the National Museum’s Department of Living Animals, and has continued to expand its offerings over the years. Should you go? Of course! Should you have a game plan? You better! To make things easier, here’s a cheat sheet that will help you get the most out of a day spent with furry, feathered, and spiny zoo friends.
The best way to get to the zoo is by public transportation. Period. Both Metro Bus and Metro Rail have stops within walking distance of the Zoo. FYI: While equal distance from both Metro stops, the walk is uphill from the Woodley Park stop and flat from the Cleveland Park stop.The L1 and L2 buses stop right in front of the Zoo's main entrance on Connecticut Avenue. Parking can be reserved before your visit for $30.
Where to Eat
mliu92 via flickr
The Mane Grill is open and serves Elevation Burgers, vegan burgers, chicken tenders, grab and go items, and kid meals on Lion-Tiger Hill. You can grab a slice of Sbarro at Panda Plaza. Feeling the heat? Grab a cone at Carvel at Panda Overlook. Dippin' Dots, Dolci Gelati and Ben & Jerry’s is also available at various locations in the park.
Giant Panda 411
Mandy Jansen via flickr
Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and Xiao Qi Jiare definitely the resident headline makers at the National Zoo. In fact, they probably attract many of the park’s two million annual visitors. The National Zoo is a leader in giant panda conservation and has been working with China to study, breed and care for these black-and-white beauties since 1972 .Depending on the time and the weather, the giant pandas have a choice to be outside or inside the panda house. The pandas typically have outdoor access until early afternoon.
Safety regulations: Free, pre-timed tickets are required for this exhibit. You can get yours here.
Daily Programs
Something is always happening at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. Daily programs include animal training, feeding demonstrations and keeper talks. Some programs change from week to week. Zoo educators and volunteers try to keep an updated schedule, but due to weather and the needs of the animals, activity times can change. Please be sure to consult a schedule at the Zoo on the day of your visit.
Keeping Your Cool
The Austinot via flickr
It’s no secret…during the summer the Zoo can get rather toasty. When the heat is on, keep cool by strolling through the many mist stations sprinkled throughout the park. Even better, dip your feet in the flowing waters of the American Trail Tide Pool (May 30-Sep. 30), a shallow wave pool open for tiptoe-ing through with replica model sea stars, barnacles and mussels.
The Wizarding World is expanding—and your child can build it all! LEGO and Warner Bros. Consumer Products recently announced the launch of brand-new Harry Potter sets.
Your kiddo has spent years building with Potter-themed plastic bricks. Now they can add to their collection with sets themed after Harry Potter’s second year at Hogwarts. As if the sets aren’t enough on their own, several of the new options come with an exclusive 20th Anniversary golden minifigure.
That’s right—20 years have passed since the Wizarding World was first introduced in LEGO form. Along with the magical bricks your child has built over the years, the newest additions keep the Hogwarts theme going with scenes your young Potter fan knows and loves.
The new line includes the LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts: Polyjuice Potion Mistake, LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts: Fluffy Encounter, LEGO Harry Potter Hogsmeade Collage Visits, LEGO Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets, LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Wizard’s Chess, LEGO Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, LEGO Harry Potter Fawkes, Dumbledore’s Phoenix, and LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts: First Flying Lesson sets.
Marcos Bessa, LEGO Harry Potter Design Lead, said in a press release, “Two decades ago, we launched the first LEGO Harry Potter set—which I played with as a 12-year-old—and fans have remained just as enchanted by the magical adventures that they can relive and replay with the LEGO sets today as they were in 2001.”
Bessa added, “These new products are packed full of captivating features and exciting design twists that we hope will excite and enthrall builders of all ages as they explore some of their favourite moments from the films.”
Nab one of these sets in LEGO Stores, select retailers, or online at LEGO.com starting Aug. 1. Check out LEGO.com for pre-order options right now.
You don’t have to venture outside your house to take a trip to the museum––turn your living room in a prehistoric playland! With the new Museum Alive app, David Attenborough will take your family back in time using the latest Unity AR technology.
Now you can use your iPhone to do more than scroll through IG or post pics of your kiddos on Facebook. If you have an iPhone 8 or up and use iOS 13 or iOS 14, you can blast into the past.
The Museum Alive app is a continuation of Attenborough’s BAFTA-winning Museum Alive film. Using AR (augmented reality) and spatial audio technology, the app magically transports users into a prehistoric experience.
Choose one of three photorealistic fossils to explore: A 300 million-year-old five-eyed fish-like Opabinia, a flying Diamorphodon dinosaur or the sabre-toothed Smildon. Use your phone’s camera to see the world through the eyes of your chosen prehistoric creature and learn about prehistoric life.
Creative and Technical Lead at Museum Alive production studio Alchemy Immersive, Elliot Graves, said in a press release, “We’re so proud to launch an app that can genuinely contribute to educating and inspiring children using immersive technologies. At a time when so many children are disengaged with learning, we really hope the excitement of bringing fossils to life in the home will provide a novel experience that showcases the potential of immersive story-telling within education.”
Graves continued, “We are particularly proud of the app’s visual quality and our distinctive approach to 3D menu design. Above all, though, David Attenborough’s captivating stories bring an infectious liveliness to this immersive experience that instantly makes it cinematic. You just won’t forget what it’s like to have a Sabre-tooth tiger prowl across your floor before pouncing on its prey – and we can’t wait to share what it’s like.”
Of the original 3D Natural History Museum Alive film and experience, Attenborough said, “It’s really exciting to take these stories and bring them to a new young audience via a digital platform which allows you to explore these extraordinary extinct creatures in a way people have never been able to before. I hope that it will make people think about these extinct creatures differently.”
Find Alchemy Immersive’s Museum Alive app in the App Store here!
Whether you are studying potions and spells in the classroom or over Zoom come fall, this captivating new collection will have you outfitted for a trip to Hogwarts. Vera Bradley’s new line is simply enchanting. This Harry Potter-inspired capsule includes backpacks, handbags, travel duffels, accessories, cozy favorites and more.
Featuring an exclusive Home to Hogwarts pattern with nods to iconic symbols from the Harry Potter film series, this new collection brings together magic and Vera Bradley’s signature bright and colorful touch.
Select pieces are available in patterns named and styled after each Hogwarts house. No matter where the Sorting Hat places you there is a bag for everyone.
“So many of our fans grew up with Harry Potter the same way they grew up with Vera Bradley. In fact, this was one of the most highly requested collaborations from our customers and associates,” said Rob Wallstrom, Chief Executive Officer of Vera Bradley. “The Harry Potter + Vera Bradley collection embodies the imagination, courage, and spirit of adventure that the Harry Potter movies are known for, and we couldn’t be more excited to finally bring this collaboration to life.”
The Harry Potter + Vera Bradley collection is now available in Vera Bradley Full Line stores, participating Vera Bradley retailers, and on www.verabradley.com.
Persistent attention issues have a significant impact on the daily lives of millions of people. Today Akili announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted clearance for EndeavorRxTM (AKL-T01) as a prescription treatment for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Delivered through a captivating video game experience, EndeavorRx is indicated to improve attention function as measured by computer-based testing in children ages 8-12 years old with primarily inattentive or combined-type ADHD, who have a demonstrated attention issue.
Attention impairments are a key component of ADHD for many children yet are often overshadowed by more overt symptoms of ADHD.
EndeavorRx was reviewed through FDA’s de novo pathway and its clearance creates a new class of digital therapeutics. EndeavorRx is designed to directly target and activate neural systems through the presentation of sensory stimuli and motor challenges to improve cognitive functioning.
“We’re proud to make history today with FDA’s decision,” said Eddie Martucci, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Akili. “With EndeavorRx, we’re using technology to help treat a condition in an entirely new way as we directly target neurological function through medicine that feels like entertainment. Families are looking for new ways to help their children with ADHD. With today’s decision by FDA, we’re excited to offer families a first-of-its-kind non-drug treatment option and take an important first step toward our goal to help all people living with cognitive issues.”
EndeavorRx was granted clearance based on data from five clinical studies in more than 600 children diagnosed with ADHD, including a prospective, randomized, controlled study published in The Lancet Digital Health journal, which showed EndeavorRx improved objective measures of attention in children with ADHD. After four weeks of EndeavorRx treatment, one-third of children no longer had a measurable attention deficit on at least one measure of objective attention. Further, about half of parents saw a clinically meaningful change in their child’s day-to-day impairments after one month of treatment with EndeavorRx; this increased to 68% after a second month of treatment. Improvements in ADHD impairments following a month of treatment with EndeavorRx were maintained for up to a month.
“For children living with ADHD, improving their ability to focus and resist distraction is critical to their daily functioning and performance in school,” said Elysa Marco, M.D., cognitive and behavioral child neurologist and Clinical Executive for Neurodevelopmental Medicine at Cortica Healthcare. “Unlike traditional ADHD medications, EndeavorRx is designed to specifically target inattention. Based on the benefits my research participants and patients have experienced, I am thrilled that EndeavorRx is moving from the lab to the clinic to play an essential role as part of a comprehensive treatment plan for children with ADHD.”
The EndeavorRx treatment will be available with a prescription to families soon. Akili believes that cognitive impairments require the same constant attention and care as with any other chronic condition. EndeavorRx will be released as the centerpiece of the Endeavor Care Program, which includes the EndeavorRx treatment and Akili Care,TM a mobile tracking app and personal support services for caregivers. Easily accessible from home, EndeavorRx is downloaded from the App Store by families on their mobile devices and does not require any additional equipment.
“The clearance of EndeavorRx marks the culmination of nearly a decade of research and development and was fueled by the commitment of our team and collaborators to challenge the status quo of medicine. This would not have been possible without the dedication of our clinical research partners and hundreds of families who gave their time and energy to participate in our clinical trials,” said Scott Kellogg, senior vice president of medical devices at Akili.
EndeavorRx is built on the Akili Selective Stimulus Management engine (SSMETM) core technology, a proprietary technology designed for the targeted activation of specific neural systems in the brain to treat diseases with associated cognitive dysfunction. SSME presents specific sensory stimuli and simultaneous motor challenges designed to target and activate the neural systems that play a key role in attention function while using adaptive algorithms to personalize the treatment experience for each individual patient. This enables second by second monitoring of patient progress completing the treatment sessions, and continuously challenges each patient to an optimized level, encouraging patients to improve their performance. Driven by the core belief at Akili that effective medicine can also be fun and engaging, EndeavorRx is delivered through an action video game experience. The captivating experience of EndeavorRx is designed to drive engagement and compliance.
If you were watching Good Morning America this morning, you were among the first to hear the exciting news. The Hamilton movie, originally intended for a full theatrical release premiering Oct. 2021 will be dropping sooner than expected.Now, the release has been moved up a year and a half to Jul 3 and will stream on Disney+.
Miranda, the show’s creator, and Bob Iger, executive chairman of The Walt Disney Company, made the surprise announcement this morning.
“No other artistic work in the last decade has had the cultural impact of Hamilton—an inspiring and captivating tale told and performed in a powerfully creative way. In light of the extraordinary challenges facing our world, this story about leadership, tenacity, hope, love and the power of people to unite against the forces of adversity is both relevant and impactful,” said Iger. “We are thrilled to bring this phenomenon to Disney+ on the eve of Independence Day, and we have the brilliant Lin-Manuel Miranda and the team behind ‘Hamilton’ to thank for allowing us to do so more than a year before planned.”
According to Miranda, The Hamilton performance that will air on Disney+ was filmed over three days in July 2016 with the original cast. “It just captures that moment in time so beautifully and watching it brings me right back there with that incredible, once-in-a-lifetime company,” he said.
The film is a leap forward in the art of “live capture” which transports its audience into the world of the Broadway show in a uniquely intimate way. Combining the best elements of live theater, film, and streaming, the result is a cinematic stage performance that is a wholly new way to experience Hamilton.
“I’m so proud of how beautifully Tommy Kail has brought ‘Hamilton’ to the screen. He’s given everyone who watches this film the best seat in the house,” said Lin-Manuel Miranda. “I’m so grateful to Disney and Disney+ for reimagining and moving up our release to July 4th weekend of this year, in light of the world turning upside down. I’m so grateful to all the fans who asked for this, and I’m so glad that we’re able to make it happen. I’m so proud of this show. I can’t wait for you to see it.”
Filmed at The Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in Jun. of 2016, Hamilton features Tony Award winners Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton; Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler; Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr; Tony Award nominees Christopher Jackson as George Washington; Jonathan Groff as King George; Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton; and Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds; Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison; and Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton.
The cast also includes Carleigh Bettiol, Ariana DeBose, Hope Easterbrook, Sydney James Harcourt, Sasha Hutchings, Thayne Jasperson, Elizabeth Judd, Jon Rua, Austin Smith, Seth Stewart and Ephraim Sykes.
Crack open a book filled with beautiful illustrations and captivating words, and you open a whole new world to your children. Your local library is the perfect destination to find that next great book, but rows of stacked shelves aren’t the only attraction. Libraries in the DMV amp up that library day experience in a big way. Check out these activities and level up your next library outing.
Put those cool coding and robotics books into action with the Makerspace tools. Your little inventors can design a playdough controller with Makey Makey, or try their hands at coding with Spheros. Kids of all ages will love watching the 3D printer in action. Littles 10 & under need adult supervision in these spaces.
There is something special about having storytime at the world's largest library. Spanning three palatial buildings with a mammoth collection of 16 million books, The Library of Congress offers a surprisingly cozy nook for little readers in the Young Readers Center. Due to space limitations, free admission stickers are distributed to the first 50 participants, so arrive early.
Young Readers Center Thomas Jefferson Building Room LJ G29 (ground floor) 10 First St. S.E. Capitol Hill 202-707-5000 Online: loc.gov
This fun play-and-learn center was designed to get little ones 5 & under excited about reading. Your tiny tot can build in the Construction Zone and sail the high seas of Toddler Bay. Storyville is a featured space in the Rosedale and Woodlawn branches of the Baltimore County public libraries.
No one will be shushing your little Mozart during this raucous musical playtime. Your little one can grab an instrument and compose a tune with their library friends. Singing is encouraged and dance parties are mandatory (OK, not really, but who doesn’t love that wiggle?).
Mt. Pleasant Library 3160 16th St. NW Mt. Pleasant 202-671-3121 Online: dclibrary.org/mtpleasant
This multi-sensory storytime is an interactive half-hour filled with songs and stories for kids with special needs. The activities invite social interactions and a fun time for all.
Two hours of STEM creativity sounds like a great morning for your little designer. Blocks of all shapes and sizes spread out for little hands to stack and knock over, over and over again. You might even get a few minutes to yourself while they get those creative juices flowing.
Try your hand at old and new board games. Bring the whole family and challenge them to a mean game of Monopoly. Don’t forget about Connect Four, fun and educational.
Actor, dad, kid lit writer––Neil Patrick Harris is a man of many talents. Not only is he a star on the stage and on the screen, but he’s also the author behind The Magic Misfits series, and Harris is back at it again with the third installment, The Magic Misfits: The Minor Third.
Fans of the first two books already know the series focuses on characters Carter and Leila. Harris’ third book shifts the point of view from these two to Theo, the violinist.
The awesome adventure is filled with excitement, intrigue, dramatic tension and a creepy ventriloquist’s dummy named Daniel. Along with the captivating narrative, The Third Manor includes plenty of practical magic tips/tricks!
The Magic Misfits: The Minor Third debuts Sep. 10. Even though your child still has a few weeks to wait, the Kindle edition is already number one on Amazon’s New Releases, Children’s Stories about Toys category.
—Erica Loop
Featured photo: Courtesy of Little, Brown and Company
There is nothing quite like cracking open a brand new book; the feel of the pages, the smell of the paper, and of course, the captivating characters and spellbinding storylines. A visit to your local bookstore can open your child’s eyes to the wonderful world of books and help instill a lifelong love of reading. Click through the gallery to see our favorite local bookstores that love kids and put a premium on pint-sized readers.
Elliott Bay Book Company
Nestled in the center of Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, The Elliott Bay Book Company is a full service bookstore, home to over 150,000 titles. And the bookstore features one of our area’s best selection of new books, including a stellar collection of children’s books and graphic novels. The bookstore has great character and an inviting atmosphere for book lovers of all ages. If you have a tween or teen, check out the Underground YA Book Group. The friendly and helpful staff can help you find the perfect book or spend time scanning the shelves to find something that strikes your fancy. While you're there, be sure to visit Little Oddfellows, the cozy, in-house café that offers baked goods, sandwiches, coffee from Caffe Vita and beer and wine for the more mature patrons.
Bonus: Need a sweet treat to cool you down? Head next door and get your ice cream fix at Molly Moon’s, a local favorite that serves up homemade ice cream using local ingredients and sustainable practices.
