From exciting music and dance performances to an extravaganza of hands-on activities, artist demonstrations and free goody bags, Sizzlin’ Summer Saturdays gives kids and families a cool and creative way to spend July Saturdays. What’s better, mom and dad or grandpa and grandma can explore the Heard Museum and enjoy the activities for free as well, thanks to support from Target.

Saturdays, July 11, 18, 25 and August 1, 2009, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Schedule of Activities:

• Museum Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Hands-on Activities: 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Artist Demonstrations: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Performances: 11:30 a.m. & 1 p.m.
• Book Signings: noon to 2 p.m.

Saturday, July 11  All About Animals!
Find out about the importance of animals to Native people. Kids can scratch designs onto turtle cutouts, paint a bird pin, create an animal stamp greeting card, make a bone claw pendant necklace and craft a glitter turtle or piggy bank. Father and son dancers Lane and Tyrese Jensen, Navajo, will thrill audiences with a variety of pow wow dances including fancy dancing and hoop dancing. And master Navajo weaver Marilou Shultz will demonstrate how she weaves wool into beautiful rugs. Author Lori April Rome will sign her book The Adventures of Salt & Soap in the Grand Canyon, and the story’s title characters, dogs Salt and Soap, will also be on hand.

• Hands-on Activities –Scratch designs onto turtle cutouts, paint a bird pin, create an animal stamp greeting card, make a bone claw pendant necklace and craft a glitter turtle or piggy bank.
• Performances – Hoop dancers and Fancy dancing with Lane and Tyrese Jensen
• Artist Demonstration – Navajo weaver Marilou Shultz
• Book Signing – Lori April Rome will sign The Adventures of Salt & Soap in the Grand Canyon. The title characters, dogs Salt and Soap will also be on hand.

Saturday, July 18   Bugs & Butterflies!
Learn about how insects and butterflies form an important part of Native culture. Kids can bring home a necklace they make themselves from foam bug beads, paint fuzzy butterflies, make a creepy spider bracelet, custom-design a butterfly and use clothespins to make their own butterfly.

• Hands-on Activities – Make a fabulous foam bug bead necklace, paint fuzzy butterfly pictures, create a foam spider bracelet, scratch your own design onto a butterfly and make a clothespin butterfly
• Performances – Aztec stories with Michael Heralda
• Artist Demonstration – Yellowbird Indian Dancers
• Book Signing – Illustrator Kim Duffek will sign her book The Little Saguaro

Saturday, July 25   By the Sea!
The sea and its denizens are a vital part of tribal cultures near the ocean. Learn more about the sea and its creatures by creating a necklace from foam sea creatures, coloring a tissue paper fish, painting a whale pin, scratching your very own designs on a fish and color a fish bag to tote all their new treasures home!

• Hands-on Activities – Kids can get crafty and create a fabulous foam sea creatures necklace, color a tissue paper fish, paint a whale pin, scratch special patterns onto a fish and color a fish bag
• Performances – Aztec stories with Michael Heralda
• Artist Demonstration – Akimel O’odham jeweler Tim Terry will demonstrate shell etching
• Book Signing – Brooke Bessesen will sign her book Look Who Lives in the Ocean

Saturday, August 1   Plant It!
Plants and flowers have been used by Native peoples for centuries for food, basketry and other items, and for other purposes. Kids can feel like they’re part of the action by scratching their own patterns onto leaves, creating flower rubbings, making a necklace from candy corn beads, making leaves from tissue paper and painting a corn cob pin.

• Hands-on Activities – Create patterns by scratching leaves, create flower rubbings, make a fabulous foam candy corn bead necklace, make tissue paper leaves and paint a corn cob pin
• Performances – Hopi Dance Group
• Artist Demonstration –Navajo basket weaver Christopher Black
•  Book Signing – Brauns Black: Grand Canyon Adventure Game