Are your kids going stir crazy from being cooped up with the chilly weather we are having? The Dietrich has just the remedy for that: a variety of fun classes that will definitely get their creative juices flowing. This weekend Rand Whipple of Box of Light Studios will be back with another day chocked full of film making, robotics and more.

He will teach the Animation Film Class from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20. In this workshop students will learn all about stop action film making as they create a short animated film with clay or LEGOs. Their task will be to choose something they want to teach and create a film showing it. Students are welcome to enter their films in the Box of Light Studios and WVIA Public Media’s Education Animation Festival this spring.

Then from 1 to 2:30 p.m. the same day, Whipple will teach Robotics: Robo Rumble. In this one-day workshop, students will learn how to build and program robots that crash into one another. Along the way students will learn about force, momentum, traction and more.

Later that afternoon, from 3 to 4:30 p.m., the Dietrich will offer a Zombie Film Class with Whipple. Kids will have a great time learning all about doing zombie stage makeup from creating cuts, scars, burns and the very important “my dead and rotting fleshing is hanging off my face!” look. As a group, students will make a short zombie movie trailer.

Students ages 7-14 years old are invited to take one or all of these Saturday workshops. Admission is $17 per class and space is limited. Call the theater at 570-996-1500 for more information or to register.

If you are looking for classes for children ages 2 1/2-5 years old, in March the Dietrich will present a four-week Little People and Nature with Rebecca Lesko of the Endless Mountains Nature Center. In these classes, little ones and their moms, dads, grandparents or caregivers will learn about fish, birds, turtles and a surprise nature topic through crafts, games, role playing, discovery stations and stories. There will be a Tuesday series of the class starting on March 8 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and a Wednesday series of the class which kicks off on March 9. Come to all of the classes in the series or just one. Admission is free, thanks to support from the Overlook Estate Foundation.

And of course, Amy and Steve Colley will be presenting a few visual arts classes for kids. If you are looking for a one-shot workshop try Fine Art Fridays for Kids. Children ages five to twelve years old will be invited to explore the arts while you go out for dinner, shop or just enjoy adult company.From 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 26, the class will focus on pottery and sculpture. Admission is $20 per child and all materials are provided.

In March, Amy and Steve will be offering Drawing and Painting classes where students will learn about line, shape, shading and more as they explore using a variety of materials including tempera, watercolors and pastels. Classes will be held on Fridays, March 4 through March 25 for students ages 5-12 years old. Admission is $40 for the four-session class.

Amy Colley will also teach Preschool Drawing and Painting on the same days, but from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Admission is free, thanks to the support of the Dietrich’s Fundraising Committee.

As you can see, the Dietrich is so much more than the movies!

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More Than Movies

Erica Rogler

Reach the Abington Journal newsroom at 570-587-1148 or news@s24528.p831.sites.pressdns.com.