Active Kids Day in Valparaiso offers musical instruments and fun for kids, resources for parents
Vendors lined the plaza with hands-on activities, musical instruments, and information for
parents on different programs. The event was planned to encourage kids to get involved and be
active. All day long there were demonstrations of kid-centric activities and on-site registrations
for camps, clinics, sports, and lessons.
'We really lucked out with the weather,' said Tyler Ingram, the new special events coordinator
for Valparaiso Parks. 'It's a beautiful day and we have great attendance.'
'Our free events are not possible without our sponsors, and we have great vendors that are
staples at a lot of our events,' said Ingram. 'We are hoping that those here today take a look at
all the parks has to offer with our different programs, day camps, and pathways and trails.
Danielle Reed, of Chesterton, attended the event with her daughter Savannah and a friend.
'So far, the kids are liking the bouncy house and all the hands-on activities and the gymnastics,'
said Reed. 'They got to touch different types of fur at the Gabis Arboretum booth and they really
liked that.'
'I'm here taking in everything,' said Reed. 'There are amazing businesses here that I never
even knew existed.'
'I think this is great because it gives everyone a chance to see what some of the vendors have to
offer,' said Tiffany Hoefler, of Valparaiso, who attended Active Kids Day with her two children. 'There are a lot of camps and different activities that I may be able to get my kids involved in.'
Adrienne Weaver, of Westville, is an instructor at Innovative Music & Arts Studio in Valparaiso.
She and the studio's owner, Kim Dale, were giving demonstrations with a DJ for kids to get
involved and try rhythm instruments.
'We have drums and other instruments that kids can try today, and we want them to get their
interest started at a young age,' said Weaver, who teaches strings and piano.
Dana Gibson is the practice manager for Associated Pediatricians, who has been a vendor at this
event for several years. Their practice had over 20 people working shifts throughout the day at
their booth.
'At the practice, we pride ourselves on encouraging kids to be active and healthy,' said Gibson.
'This community event supports exactly what we want our patients to do.'
Only 20-28% of children ages 6-17 meet the daily physical activity recommendation of 60
minutes and that number has decreased since 2016, and that physical activity declines with age, according to the Physical Activity Alliance, which is the nation's largest coalition dedicated to
advancing regular participation in physical activity.
Valpo Parks offers summer programs for kids at Discovery Cottage and Discovery Day Camp at
Rogers Lakewood, including youth programs and special events throughout the summer. For more information, visit valpoparks.org.
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USA Today
01-08-2025
- USA Today
'The Fantastic Four' makes us ask: Is it possible to give birth in space?
Spoiler alert! The following story contains major plot details about "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" (now in theaters). As Sue Storm, Vanessa Kirby gets to turn invisible and generate force fields to save the world from a cosmic giant. But in Marvel's "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," her most superheroic feat just might be giving birth in zero gravity. Midway through the film, a very pregnant Sue ventures into space with her husband Reed (Pedro Pascal), brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and friend Ben (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) to confront Galactus (voiced by Ralph Ineson) and his fierce mininon, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). As luck would have it, she goes into labor just as Galactus threatens to destroy the Earth if they don't hand over their then-unborn son, Franklin. The superheroes run back to the ship, where Sue starts to have contractions. Between contractions, she uses her powers to make the vessel invisible to hide it from the villains. While Johnny is off trying to kill the Silver Surfer, Ben stands at the foot of her makeshift delivery table in order to catch the baby, and Reed holds his wife down so she has gravity to push. Whoa, baby! The real story behind the adorable star of 'Fantastic Four' While it's nowhere near as traumatic as Kirby's birth scene in her Oscar-nominated "Pieces of a Woman," it's still an incredibly intense moment as our heroes attempt to deliver the newborn in fraught circumstances. And according to experts, the movie's depiction of zero-gravity birth isn't far from the truth. "Labor and delivery is not dependent on gravity, so births would be expected to occur without gravity," says Dr. Hugh Taylor, chair of the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at Yale School of Medicine. Nonetheless, he adds, "there are many aspects to consider. Movement cannot be well controlled, and positioning may be difficult. Movement of the baby or maneuvering the baby to aid in delivery could set the mom moving rather than the baby. The mom would need to be held in place. Strapping down the mom and any healthcare providers would be necessary. Amniotic fluid, blood and other bodily fluids would fill the room rather than drain to the floor. On the brighter side, no one would ever have to worry about dropping the baby!" Taylor is not aware of any humans or animals that have actually been born in space. But if it was to occur, he says the biggest issues would be cosmic radiation, as well as a lack of resources to care for the infant after it's born. "The developing fetus is more sensitive to radiation and there may be a greater risk of pregnancy loss or problems in development," Taylor says. "There are not likely to be medical units to care for newborns in space. Without the advanced care such as NICUs, some babies would be in jeopardy. Normal development after birth is far more dependent on gravity; this would clearly affect the growth and development of the baby. I would be more worried about the baby than the delivery." In short, what you see in "The Fantastic Four" is "feasible, and could occur," Taylor continues. "However, I would not recommend it. It would not be optimal for the baby's health."
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Yahoo
I watched Fantastic Four and Superman back-to-back, and now I'm more worried than ever that there's no way back for Marvel
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A lot of people have had really high hopes for The Fantastic Four: First Steps in the build-up to its release. I have been feeling more cautious – even as someone who rates Avengers: Endgame as one of the few movies I'd give five stars to – but in principle it definitely looked set to deliver what I'd want from it. Charismatic cast, cool retro-futurist production design, a very giant man – that kind of thing. Sadly, when the credits rolled, the first words I used to describe it were "aggressively fine". Somehow, despite succeeding in giving me everything I mentioned above, I found it bland and formless. [Spoilers for both Fantastic Four and Superman from here!] Everything seems to come incredibly easily to Marvel's first family. Reed happens to have already been working on the technology they need to win the day. Johnny translates and learns a whole alien language in a couple of months (I assume? The timeline of events is also pretty slippery). Sue is exactly powerful enough for whatever needs to happen at the time. I felt basically nothing about any of it. It wasn't thrilling, it wasn't exciting. Even the characters and the world they live in seem to feel the same way as me – everyone seems so flat and bored, inside the Baxter Building and outside it. I'd have assumed the America of Earth 828 is in a great depression or war, if the movie hadn't made clear that the Fantastic Four created a techno-utopia. Obviously, I don't expect to go into a superhero movie and feel any genuine worry that a lead character is going to die, or that the world might end. Instead, these movies are supposed to leave you wondering 'How are they going to get out of this one?' and then surprise you with a cool result. First Steps tells you exactly how they're going to get out of this one in advance, and then they get out of this one in essentially the exact way they promised. I can even get on board with that, if a movie is interesting along the way, thematically. If it does daring things with its character interactions and motivations, if it's exploring meaty themes, or if it least makes me think about something these movies haven't really tackled before. Thunderbolts* has a good dose of this, and is Marvel's best movie in years as a result. First Steps can't get any theme beyond first gear, so there's nothing for me to chew on here. But still, I found it to be a diverting one hour 55 minutes, even if it was disappointing as the hopeful 'Don't worry, Marvel's turning a corner' movie I'd expected it to be. But then I went straight into my second viewing of Superman, and the contrast between them makes FF look even worse in my eyes, and Superman look even more impressive. Tales from the Krypto keeper Superman manages a more engaging character dynamic in its first three minutes than Fantastic Four manages in its entire run-time, and only one of the characters involved can speak. Krypto's lack of obedience in the opening sets up that this movie will have the exact opposite to FF's problem, where everything comes too easy: in Superman, being the most powerful metahuman in the world doesn't stop things being really damn hard. (In general, I think the writing around Krypto is genius. Having an obedient dog who's as strong as Superman basically means you have two Supermans. Supermen? In any case, that would be a lot for the first movie narrative to handle. Making Krypto a force of uncontrolled, chaotic good solves that problem.) Where Fantastic Four travels inexorably from plot point to plot point on rails, Superman swings between surprises. Lex has a pocket universe! Superman and Lois have a tense journalistic sparring! Now there's a kaiju! 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I'm excited to see the next movie that comes from the DC creative team. I don't feel that way about Marvel any more, and First Steps is the final nail in that coffin. You might also like I only needed to see 30 seconds of James Gunn's Superman to have full confidence in the DCU's Supergirl movie Avengers: Doomsday's second lead is rumored to be Chris Hemsworth's Thor, and I know exactly how he's trained for the next Marvel movie The Fantastic Four: First Steps director has a blunt message for fans who criticised the Marvel movie's visual effects: 'I think they're beautiful' Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Yahoo
Fantastic Four Theory Reveals How They Travel From Earth-828 To 616 Universe
A new Avengers: Doomsday theory explores how the Fantastic Four might travel to Earth-616. It suggests Reed Richards uses Galactus' ancient ship tech, combined with his own inventions, to build multiversal transport and rescue Franklin Richards from Doctor Doom's grasp. How Reed Richards cracks multiverse travel in Avengers: Doomsday and why Reed Richards designs an inter-universe transportation during the course of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. That's what he uses to transport Galactus to a different corner of the universe. But after that, Galactus' ship Taa II was lying dormant in Earth's orbit. So, it'd be safe to assume that Reed would gain access to it to explore ancient technology that could be billions of years old. In the movie, Reed says he needs 10 years to study its systems. But the post-credits scene takes place four years later, which could suggest that Reed may have spent that time analyzing Galactus' technology. According to a theory by New Rockstars, Reed likely combines his own transportation and faster-than-light travel technology with the ancient systems aboard Galactus' ship to enable multiversal travel. The film confirms that Reed had previously built a teleportation bridge capable of moving objects across vast interstellar distances. His chalkboard also includes speculation about the bridge opening portals to other dimensions. New Rockstars notes that Reed had already mastered wormhole travel via the Excelsior ship's FTL engine and routinely tracks cosmic signals. He also possesses a comprehensive star map and cosmic observation tools. These details support the idea that he could integrate cosmic-level technology from Galactus' ship to expand his reach beyond Universe-828. The theory further suggests Reed's motivation to enter Earth-616, which may stem from Doctor Doom's possible kidnapping of Franklin Richards. That's how and why we see the Fantastic Four's ship in Thunderbolts*' post-credits scene. Avengers: Doomsday features Universe-828 and includes scenes set in the Baxter Building. So, according to New Rockstars' theory, this setup allows the Fantastic Four to travel to Earth-616 using enhanced multiversal tech built from Reed's inventions and Galactus' ship. Alternatively, the Avengers could also use America Chavez for the same. But we'll find out more when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, 2026. Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on SuperHeroHype. The post Fantastic Four Theory Reveals How They Travel From Earth-828 To 616 Universe appeared first on Mandatory. Solve the daily Crossword
