CALLING ALL ASPIRING INVENTORS!  It’s time to channel your inner Iron Man/Tony Stark and let your inventing imagination go wild.  Discovery Science Center, Broadcom Foundation and Marvel Studios, along with Visa Signature and the famous El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, are proud to team up to sponsor a nationwide Marvel’s IRON MAN 3: INVENTOR and INNOVATOR FAIR in conjunction with the May 3rd release of Marvel’s IRON MAN 3, starring Robert Downey Jr.

The 12 finalists of the Marvel’s IRON MAN 3: INVENTOR and INNOVATOR FAIR will win a trip to Southern California, provided by Visa Signature. The trip includes a behind-the-scenes tour of Disney Studios, a meeting with Disney Imagineers, a trip to Disneyland, a visit to Discovery Science Center, and more!  INVENTOR andINNOVATOR FAIR finalists will also have their projects on display at the famous El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, from May 3^rd – June 20^th.  The competition concludes at the El Capitan Theatre on May 3^rd when four Grand Prize winners will accept their awards at a special ceremony, on stage prior to the showing of Marvel’sIRON MAN 3.

Sixth through ninth-grade girls and boys across the nation are invited to participate, including those who have competed in Broadcom MASTERS®, a program of Society for Science & the Public (SSP).

For more information, rules and how to apply, visit www.discoverycube.org/ironman3.

Marvel’s IRON MAN 3: INVENTOR and INNOVATOR FAIR participants are the next generation of forward thinkers and innovators that will lead us into the future with scientific breakthroughs, engineering feats and technological advances. They are the real-life Tony Starks of tomorrow!” said Mike Pasciullo, Marvel’s SVP, Brand Planning & Communications.

Participating students are being asked to produce innovative, inventive projects based on themes from Marvel’s IRON MAN 3 —science, technology, engineering and math-related concepts and practices. Marvel’s IRON MAN 3: INVENTOR and INNOVATOR FAIR competition is encouraging students to submit projects that align with the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) Grand Challenges for Engineering.

Some of the themes of the NAE Grand Challenges related to Marvel’s IRON MAN 3 are: (1) Develop Carbon Sequestration Methods, including projects involving themes of eco-friendly car development; (2) Engineer Better Medicines, with projects that focus on global disease prevention, limb regeneration and the study of body armor that protects injured body parts such as the heart; (3) Secure Cyberspace, inspiring projects that can lead to the development of new technologies that can redefine innovative security measures; and (4) Engineer the Tools of Scientific Discovery, in fields such as micro-technology, aeronautics or robotics.

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• January 14 Lazy Town
• January 21 Max & Ruby
• January 28 The Doodlebops
• February 4 Choo Choo Soul

Now remember, my kids are 16 and 18 so while I have heard of Max & Ruby and The Doodlebops, both Lazy Town and Choo Choo Soul are totally foreign to me.

Saturday my husband and I headed to SeaWorld with my 5 1/2 year old friend, M whom I happened to be babysitting for the day. M has never been to SeaWorld and was very excited to go with Mrs cindy and Mr Ron.

We arrived at the park around 10am, grabbed a map and planned our day around what M had told us he wanted to see and the fact that we had tickets to the 2pm Lazy Town show. Note: Seating for the 2 daily concerts is limited. The concerts are included in park admission but you must go to the table across from the Nautilus Theater to pick up your tickets early in the day to insure that you can get in to the concert. the concerts take place at 11am and 2pm.

We spent the morning wandering the park, visiting the Key West area and looking at the Sting Rays and Dolphins, though M wouldn’t go near the touch tanks or even let me pick him up so he could see better. We attended the Clyde & Seamore Take Pirate Island show and then headed to the Shark Encounter. M was mesmerized by being in the shark tube and he probably could have stayed there all day.

Around the park there were educational Ocean Adventure Stations that you could visit and get stamps to earn a special prize. Unfortunately, these stations were small and very crowded-the one we did get close to in Wild Arctic, had adults doing the activities while kids waited in line! we skipped the stations as well as the Wild Creation Station.

On our way to lunch we stopped at Shamu’s Party Zone for a quick dance and then over to the photo op with a polar bear (man in a costume not a real polar bear). M wanted to wave at the polar bear but he did not want to have his picture taken with it so we moved on. We chose lunch at the Spice Mill because M is fond of chicken nuggets. I have never eaten at this particular restaurant before and hubby and I chose to share a steak burger because the signs throughout the restaurant led you to believe they were something special…they were not. I was glad we had decided to share a meal because I couldn’t have choked down and entire burger and I hate wasting money on over-priced theme park food. The burger was cold and chewy and not at all appetizing. I will go back and eat at Voyagers Smokehouse on my next visit, their food is delicious.

Our next stop was a ride on the Sea Carousel before we headed to the Nautilus Theater for the Lazy Town show. We had VIP seats in the 4th row with a good view of the stage. the pre-show entertainment was the Chinese hula hoop group that performed last summer before the fireworks at Summer Nights. They are very talented and M was in awe of all the tricks they performed. M was excited when the Lazy Town show began because he has seem them on television. Unfortunately, audio issues popped up at every turn. A wireless mic didn’t work, the live volume versus the music volume when the performers were lip synching was a very noticeable contrast as was the quality between the two. No matter how many times the performers coaxed the kids to stand up and get moving M refused to get involved, which surprised me because he had literally been dancing to the music throughout the park all day. When the Lazy Town show was over I asked M if he enjoyed it and he said, “It was ok, can I go climb now?”

We headed back to Shamu’s Happy Harbor where M and Mr Ron climbed all the way to the top! poor Mr Ron came face-to-face with the fact that he isn’t as young as he used to be! He was totally spent by the time they emerged from the huge climbing structure. M and I headed over to ride the Jazzy Jellies before heading out of the park. It was about 4:30 and the sun was going down and the temperatures were dropping quickly (it was in the 40s).

All-in-all we had a good day. If you have preschoolers they can get in FREE with the FREE Preschool Pass which makes a day like this even more enjoyable. The rest of the family can get a SeaWorld Fun Card and pay for a day and play all year.

Disclosure: We received park admission, free parking and VIP seats for the Lazy Town concert so that we could give you this first-hand report. All opinions are 100% mine.

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Around the Table games are perfect anytime games because you can answer 1 card or 50 cards there is no start/finish line to cross. They are great to play while waiting for your food at a restaurant, on a car trip or even while waiting in line at your favorite theme park. Around the Table games are portable and even come with a carabiner so you can clip it to your purse or backpack. Families are so busy that sometimes we really don’t talk anymore. Around the Table Games will get you talking.

Around the Table Games are great for the entire family ages 3-103. They are also affordable ranging in price from $7.99-$9.99. You can purchase them from the Around the Table website or many national retailers, they even have an iPhone app! Around the Table Games make great Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers for the families on your shopping list.

Around the Table Games is giving away 1 game of the winner’s choice to a reader of TheMomMaven.

Mandatory 1st Entry:Visit the Around the Table Games website and look at their products then come back here and tell me which game you would like to win and why.

Bonus Entries: Leave a separate comment for each

• Like Around the Table Games on Facebook and leave a comment on their wall that TheMomMaven sent you.
• Follow @aroundthetable and @MomMaven on Twitter
• Tweet This @MomMaven My family wants to #win @aroundthetable games for Christmas http://bit.ly/9gJhTy ” (you may do this 2x a day leave the tweet URL in your comment)
• Blog subscribers, GFC friends, Networked Blog followers and Facebook likers each get 1 entry
• Leave a comment on a non-giveaway post (you may do this up to 5 times-let me know which post you commented on in each entry)

This giveaway is for US entries only and will end at 9pm ET on December 2, 2010. The winner will be chosen by Random.org. This giveaway is closed.

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@kristi_runwatch
I have another giveaway starting tomorrow so make sure you follow my blog so you don’t miss anything.

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