NCM Presents Community Heroes at the Launch Zone

Which jobs in your community make people everyday heroes? Join NCM as we explore the role of community heroes and make community hero puppets on select days from July 12 – 24. Don’t miss out on a variety of special visits from heroes including a Prince George’s County police officer and librarian, U.S. Armed Forces service members, a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier, Boys & Girls Clubs camp counselors, a horticulturist from the Accokeek Foundation, and even a U.S. Secret Service agent!

Finally, celebrate the conclusion of Community Heroes with a grand finale! Through its Community Benefit Department, Kaiser Permanente brings a selection of their stellar Educational Theatre Programs to the Launch Zone on Saturday, July 24, at noon and 1 p.m. Enjoy a selection from the play Professor Bodywise's Traveling Menagerie, which utilizes colorful, life-size costumed characters, puppets, music, and dance to inspire children to learn about healthy living. Join Mumferd, Pickle, Super Weevil, and Boring G along a quest to discover that making healthy choices will help us all become Bodywise Stars! (Best suited for grades pre-K through third grade.)

Program schedule:

July 12
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.: Get creative and make a difference with TeenUP's latest community service project benefiting Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children.

July 14
11 a.m. & 1 p.m.: Watch Boys and Girls Clubs campers and counselors perform their insect musical, RUKA.
2 p.m. - 3 p.m.: Meet a police sergeant and his furry companion and discover how dogs help police officers every day.

July 16
11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.: Travel on a journey with your imagination as you listen to storytelling and enjoy songs, finger plays, and rhymes with a Prince George's County librarian.
3 p.m. - 4 p.m.: Dig in the dirt and plant flowers with a professional horticulturist.

July 17
2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.: Meet a Secret Service agent who works at the White House! Check out all the important gear he wears to protect himself and the President.

July 21
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.: Meet soldiers serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. 
11 a.m. - 3 p.m.: Learn how park rangers make parks safe, fun, and educational places. Then, see and touch animal pelts and skulls!

July 23
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.: Find out how police officers work hard to keep our community safe! 
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.: Meet U.S. Secret Service agents and participate in the Operation Safe Kids program.
1 p.m. - 2 p.m.: Travel on a journey with your imagination as you listen to storytelling and enjoy songs, finger plays, and rhymes with a Prince George's County librarian.
2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.: Have you ever wondered how mailmen keep all that mail straight? Find out from a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier!

July 24
Noon & 1 p.m.: Special grand finale performance! Enjoy a selection from the Kaiser Permanente’s play Professor Bodywise's Traveling Menagerie, which uses colorful, life- size costumed characters, puppets, music, and dance to inspire children to learn about healthy living.
2 p.m. - 5 p.m.: Meet U.S. Secret Service agents and participate in the Operation Safe Kids program.

More information and a full schedule of activities can be found on our calendar of events.

About Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States
Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States region, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, provides and coordinates complete health care services for almost 500,000 members through 30 medical office buildings in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.  Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, founded in 1980, is a total health organization composed of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc., and the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, P.C., an independent medical group that features approximately 1,000 physicians who provide or arrange care for patients throughout the area.  Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States is considered one of Maryland's "Top HMOs," according to the Maryland Health Care Commission.  The health plan was ranked in the nation’s 100 top commercial health plans and 15 top Medicare health plans – and the #1 Medicare plan for Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. – by the U.S. News & World Report/NCQA’s “America’s Best Health Insurance Plans 2009-10.”  In addition, it was recently named “Highest in Member Satisfaction,” among Commercial Health Plans by J.D. Power and Associates.  For more information about Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, visit www.kp.org.

NCM Launch Zone

112 Waterfront St., National Harbor, MD 20745

Media Contact: 

Jacqueline H. Toppings

202-675-4129, jtoppings@ncm.museum