Bettendorf ? Get ready to explore with Dora and Diego at the Family Museum in the new exhibit Dora and Diego?Let's Explore! The exhibit features beloved characters Dora and Diego from Nickelodeon's hit preschool series Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go!, along with their friends Boots, Map, Backpack, Isa, Tico, and of course Swiper, now in their own exhibit for your preschooler to explore as they learn and play along.

This new, interactive traveling exhibition was created by The Children's Museum of Indianapolis in partnership with Nickelodeon, presented by the WellPoint Foundation, and made possible locally by DHCU Credit Union, Scott County Regional Authority, The Family Museum Foundation, and Ann E. Whitman. The exhibit will be open Saturday, May 24 through Sunday, September 14, 2014.

Media and their families are invited to the ribbon cutting and member-only opening on Friday, May 23 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm. The QC Chamber will cut the ribbon at 5:30 pm.

Dora the Explorer follows the adventures of the 7-year-old Latina heroine Dora and her friends in an imaginative, tropical world. Go, Diego, Go! stars Dora's 8-year-old cousin Diego, a bilingual animal rescuer who protects animals and their environment. The exhibit gives children and their families the opportunity to go into the worlds of Dora and Diego to engage in problem-solving and active play. Young children play along as they join an adventure and learn how to solve problems, be a good friend, and care for animals and the environment. Spanish vocabulary is incorporated throughout the exhibit to introduce Spanish-speaking skills to preschool children.

Dora the Explorer is a ground-breaking children's series that draws kids into an interactive quest using a variety of learning techniques in every episode. Dora and Diego?Let's Explore! carries the play-along theme throughout the exhibit as children are encouraged to actively play while they solve problems, share and learn about the natural world.

Favorite friends and places from episodes of Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Do! are incorporated in the exhibit including:

The Purple Planet

Visit the Purple Planet with Dora and Boots! A Purple Planet home invites young visitors to climb inside and slide down on the surface of the Purple Planet.

Rocket Ship

Dora's outer-space friends want to go back to the Purple Planet and need help getting there. Aboard the Rocket Ship, preschoolers are invited to put on a spacesuit, pilot the ship, and test their memory with images of colorful planets as they help Dora and Boots take their outer-space friends home.

Constellations

On the way to the Purple Planet, Dora and Boots encounter some interesting star groupings. Children and their families are invited to help identify the patterns made out of stars by inserting star shapes to light-up a constellation.

Isa's Flowery Garden

Dora's friend Isa the Iguana demonstrates how to take care of flowers, plants, and animals. Preschool visitors can tour Isa's Garden to pick flowers, interact with bird, butterfly, and insect puppets, and pretend-fly with toddler-sized bird and butterfly wings. Even the littlest visitors will enjoy smelling the flowery scents and picking soft-fabric posies.

Tico's Tree and Car

Dora is a good friend to Tico the squirrel and young visitors are invited to be a good friend to Tico too. Tico needs help picking nuts from the tree for a family picnic. Children can play along with Swiper to swipe the nuts and watch as they shoot up and over to fill Tico's basket. Tico's car is in need of fuel! Visitors can help Tico fill up his car with nuts so he can begin his journey.

Pirate Ship

In the Pirate Ship, preschoolers can join the Pirate Piggies crew and dress like a pirate to pretend-play along sailing the ship and divvying up the treasure. Visitors can raise and lower the Pirate Piggies' flag, look through the telescopes to spot the treasure chest and then divvy up the coins into the Pirate Piggies' banks and help them share the treasure.

Animal Rescue Center

Young children can practice caring and helping rainforest animals in Diego's Animal Rescue Center. Preschoolers can be an animal rescuer, like Diego, as they diagnose and address an animal's problem from the 'Scanner' bed, bandage and apply cold packs at the 'First-Aid Station,' and bathe stuffed animals at the 'Care Station.'

Rainforest Maze

Preschoolers will explore a rainforest to locate rainforest animals. Active play is encouraged as children swing across the Bobo Brothers' monkey bars, crawl through a fallen tree, climb across Jaguar Mountain, and jump or hop across the River Rocks.

How Committed is Your State to Local Foods?
Physician-Chef Shares 4 Reasons You Should Care

Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire, respectively, claimed the top three spots in the 2014 Locavore Index, a ranking of each state's (and the District of Columbia's) commitment to promoting and providing locally grown foods.

At the bottom of the heap are Arizona, Nevada and Texas, with the Lone Star State dead last despite the fact that it's the nation's No. 1 cattle producer and No. 3 for crops receipts, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"There are many good reasons to eat locally produced foods, the first among them that they're very good for us," says cardiologist and professional chef Michael S. Fenster, MD, (www.whatscookingwithdoc.com), author of "Eating Well, Living Better" and "The Fallacy of the Calorie," (Koehler Books; fall 2014).

"There's a direct relationship between our food, our environment, our genetics and our health. Eating locally grown foods gives us our most nutritious meals, most flavorful meals. Few choices have as many personal ramifications as that which we decide to stuff into our gob."

He offers four more reasons - "the tip of the iceberg lettuce, so to speak" -- to go localvore:

•  Money: Eating organically, eating fresh and finding the seasonal local foodstuffs can be expensive - if you do all your shopping at the supermarket, Dr. Mike says.

"Finding healthful produce at venues like a local farmer's market can result in prices that are at least comparable, if not substantially less than, those at the megamarket, which has the additional costs of shipping from the nether regions," he says.

Likewise, visiting a local fishmonger can result in tasty bargains compared to flash-frozen fish flesh. Shopping for what is bountifully in season, and thus locally overstocked, can mean big savings.

"Finally, by purchasing items produced locally, your money strengthens the local economy and helps sustain the people producing the types of food stuffs that you wish to sustain yourself upon," he says. "That is the smiley face circle of life."

•  Freshness: In some ways, it's amazing we're alive considering all the food we eat that's dead, Dr. Mike says, noting almost 60 percent of the modern Western diet is prepackaged, preserved and processed.

"Any time we manipulate our comestibles in such a fashion, we add compounds that are not naturally found in them or remove parts that are," he says. "Those pre-cut vegetables in the supermarket may be convenient, but they started losing nutritional value and flavor as soon as they were sliced and diced."

Because local growers don't have to add preservatives or pick produce weeks early to ensure they'll produce will keep during shipping, local foods can be consumed at the peak of freshness and ripeness - when they taste their very best.

•  Rhythms: Our great hairy ancestors have always been omnivores.

"There is ample evidence that the reason we as a species became the smartest kids on the block is that we took advantage of a varied diet.  This hardwired drive for diversity in dining is also one reason why restrictive diets that seek to severely limit what we consume almost always, ultimately fail," Dr. Mike says.

By leveraging the seasonal and cyclic variations that naturally occur, your palate will never become dull and monochromatic, he promises.  A pleasant dining experience directly lights up our primal happy-happy joy-joy place, an experience that contributes directly to overall well-being.

•  Sustainability: All the reasons for purchasing high-quality ingredients locally ultimately circle back and rest upon the concept of sustainability. In knowing where your food comes from, in being able to ascertain both what it contains and what it does not contain, you take a proactive step in determining your own health and wellness, Dr. Mike says.

By focusing on procuring the best for you and those who depend upon you, you act to sustain yourself and your family. By affecting such a posture, you deliver local impact.

"With enough people acting locally, the impact becomes regional and if enough people demand control over their foodstuffs then, like a crazy cat video gone viral, it can have a global effect."

About Michael S. Fenster, MD

Michael Fenster, M.D., F.A.C.C., FSCA&I, PEMBA, is a board-certified interventional cardiologist. Also known as "Dr. Mike," author of "Eating Well, Living Better: The Grassroots Gourmet Guide to Good Health and Great Food," (www.whatscookingwithdoc.com), he combines his culinary talents and Asian philosophy with medical expertise, creating winning recipes for healthy eating. A certified wine professional and chef, Dr. Mike worked professionally in kitchens prior to entering medical school and maintained his passion for food and wine throughout his medical career.

Second Iowa Teacher and Principal Leadership Symposium to be held August 4th

(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry E. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds today were joined by Iowa Department of Education Director Brad Buck at their weekly news conference to announce the administration's second Iowa Teacher and Principal Leadership Symposium on Monday, August 4, 2014. The purpose of the symposium is to continue the public conversation about the critical role teacher and principal leadership will play as Iowa continues to work to give students a world-class education.

"Iowa's landmark transformational education reform package of 2013 sets the stage for Iowa to again be the leader in educational excellence," said Branstad. "Our children are counting on us to give them an effective education so they are prepared for the careers of tomorrow. We look forward to a continued dialogue with Iowa's exceptional teachers and principals as we continue to implement Iowa's teacher leadership program."

The second Iowa Teacher and Principal Leadership Symposium will be held Monday, August 4, 2014, at Des Moines Area Community College in the FFA Enrichment Center.

"Already we're seeing school districts like Central Decatur and Saydel implementing innovative teacher leadership programs in their classrooms. We look forward to hearing about lessons learned from leaders of those districts," said Reynolds. "Better utilizing teacher leadership will strengthen instruction in every class room, helping our children achieve educational excellence. The program will also attract and retain a stronger teaching force by offering more opportunities for advancement without stepping outside the classroom."

Thirty-nine school districts, with about one-third of Iowa students, in both urban and rural areas, will be in the first group to implement the program.

"We have a great opportunity unfolding in Iowa's schools, and I'm confident we'll make the most of it," said director Brad Buck. "Iowa's teacher leadership and compensation system stands to be truly transformational by helping us implement other key reforms, including high state academic standards, so Iowa students are prepared for college or career training. The program undoubtedly will improve entry into the teaching profession, foster collaboration among teachers and rewards excellence in the classroom with career pathways."

Winterset, Iowa:  With construction underway on the long-awaited John Wayne Birthplace Museum, Duke's hometown is buzzing with anticipation. To kick off the project the entire community is joining together in presenting the 2014 John Wayne Birthday Celebration May 23 & 24. New to this year's lineup will be a Rodeo/Western Swing Dance on May 23 (admission $15 individually or $25 combined) and special appearances by screen star Lana Wood, who played young Debbie in the acclaimed motion picture classic, "The Searchers." Also new this year, the Iowa Cowboy Mounted Shooters Association present two shows where mounted contestants compete in a timed event using .45 caliber single-action revolvers. And authors Lana Wood and John Wayne's daughter Aissa Wayne will join New York Times best-selling authors Scott Eyman and Glenn Frankel in a book symposium to discuss their block-buster books on John Wayne and director John Ford.

Continuing event favorites are free screenings of classic John Wayne movies at the vintage Iowa Theater, this year featuring "The Searchers," "Stagecoach" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." Visitors may also enjoy a Fireman's Pancake Breakfast, a 5K run/walk, Pie Squared dessert tasting and tours of Madison County's legendary Covered Bridges (nominal charges for each).

The exciting Birthplace Museum Benefit Dinner takes place Saturday evening at 5pm where guests will enjoy a meal along with music, celebrities and an auction of John Wayne collectibles and memorabilia hosted by the actor's daughter Aissa Wayne. Reservations are $125 per person.