The 2017 Mississippi Science Fest presented by C Spire, will launch Friday, September 22, 2017 through Saturday, September 23, 2017 in Jackson, Mississippi’s LeFleur Museum District. This will be the second year for the MS Science Fest after a successful first year. New for this year is the festival has been significantly expanded to include events throughout the LMD, which includes the Mississippi Children’s Museum, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.

The Mississippi Children’s Museum piloted the first Mississippi Science Fest in 2016 with support and assistance from The Franklin Institute. They hosted 23 exhibitors from across the state and saw over 600 visitors to the one-day event. Reflecting on the success, MCM President & CEO, Susan Garrard saw the evident desire from the community for this event, noting, “STEM jobs are the future of Mississippi. The Mississippi Science Fest is a great way to expose children to educational concepts in an exciting and engaging way, as well as provide them examples of STEM-centered career paths they may have not had the opportunity to ever consider.”

“The LeFleur Museum District is incredibly excited to host the first annual Mississippi Science Fest,” said LeFleur Museum District President and Executive Director of Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum Aaron Rodgers. “As educators, historians, and scientists, we feel it is exceedingly important to promote STEM initiatives and activities that inspire the next generation of Mississippi innovators, engineers and visionaries.”

The Mississippi Science Fest aims to engage students, families, adults and educators in a fun and interactive environment providing science education, workforce development and a glimpse into Mississippi’s future. Mississippi Science Festival will offer special exhibitors, events and programs that celebrate STEM and illustrate the vital role that Mississippians serve in these fields.

C Spire, the Mississippi Science Fest’s presenting sponsor, recognizes the importance of technology education and increasing Mississippi’s digital literacy and technical workforce. “At C Spire, we believe that some of the world’s brightest future scientists, engineers, mathematicians and creative thinkers will come from Mississippi,” said Hu Meena, C Spire CEO. “That’s why we are so excited to present our home state with a festival designed to encourage technology education and inspire our future workforce.”

STEM-themed field trips to each museum will be held on Friday, September 22nd. That evening at 6 PM, Apollo 13 Astronaut and Mississippi native, Fred Haise will present our keynote address, open to the public, at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum. The festival will also include an Ag Tech Hackathon and a ticketed celebratory event Saturday night, Discovery Night: Journey to Space at the Mississippi Children’s Museum.  A full schedule of activities for the festival and tickets can be found here. Tickets can also be purchased on the day of September 23rd at any participating museum.

George Ohr (1857-1918), Biloxi Lighthouse Pot, ca. 1895. glazed ceramic. Collection of the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art.  Gift of Elizabeth Munro and the O'Keefe Family Foundation, 1998.007.001.

George Ohr (1857-1918), Petticoat Vase, ca. 1898. glazed ceramic. Collection of the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art. Gift of David Whitney in honor of Frank and Berta Gehry, 2003.012.001.

Noah Saterstrom (born 1974), Road to Shubuta, 2016. oil on canvas. © Courtesy of the artist.

Randy Hayes (b. 1944), House on Mound (Delta), 2015. oil and photograph on canvas. Collection of Eason and Ellen Leake. © Courtesy of the artist.

Theora Hamblett (1895-1977), Hamblett Hill, 1965. oil on canvas. Collection of the University of Mississippi Museum. Bequest of Theora Hamblett, 1978.11.9.

John Steuart Curry (1897-1946), Mississippi Noah, 1935. lithograph. Collection of the Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson. Museum purchase with funds from the Rexford T. Brown Fund, 2016.039.

On Friday, August 18, 2017, Brown Bottling Group presented a check along with Kroger, Canada Dry and Dr Pepper on Friday, August 18, in the amount of $10,000 to Heritage Hills following Pick Your Charity, a month-long contest. Heritage Hills, founded by Sammy and Misty Holcomb in November 2014 is an orphan care advocacy organization on a mission to lessen the number of orphans’ one child at a time.
 
“Heritage Hills was founded with a desire to create a movement of people caring for orphans by establishing small family centered children’s homes, supporting organizations that care for orphans, advocating for adoption and providing adoption grants to families adopting both locally and internationally,” says Misty Holcomb, co-founder of Heritage Hills.  “In the world today, there are millions of children living as orphans.  The crisis is a global problem that crosses all borders.  We believe that orphans should not exist and with the help of our communities we can play a critical part in eliminating the orphan crisis.  Change one life you change the world.” She shared with us about Heritage Hills and how they are making a difference.
 
{Tell me about Heritage Hills and the origin of the name.}
 
Heritage Hills is an orphan care advocacy organization on a mission to lessen the number of orphans’ one child at a time.  We believe every child deserves to experience the love of family and the love of Christ.  We want to see orphans united with a family but especially united with their heavenly Father. Our part in that is to advocate for a community to come together and support orphans.  We hope our ministry will spark conversations between friends and families about what part they can play in helping reduce the number of orphans in the world!
 
We have a board of six volunteer members that desire to serve God and be a voice for orphan.  Our board members are: Sammy Holcomb, Misty Holcomb, James Hunsucker, Denise Leggett, Kelly Calcote and Matt Alexander.  All of our board members are thankful for the opportunity to serve and be a part of the orphan care ministry.      
 
The name Heritage Hills comes from two bible verses that are dear to our family: “Children are a Heritage from the Lord” Psalm 127:3 and “I will lift my eyes unto the Hills from whence cometh my help” Psalm 121:1
 
{What inspired Heritage Hills?}
 
Our adoption story began years ago when God used a mission trip to South America and infertility to whisper His will into our lives.  He opened our eyes to see the orphan and we could never turn away and do nothing.  In August of 2013, we adopted our youngest son and after his adoption we knew God had more ways for us to serve orphans.  We talked about how we could help on a larger scale and get our community involved: that’s when we decided to peruse starting a non-profit.  We researched all the necessary state and federal requirements and started the process.  A few months after completing all the paperwork, we were approved as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization.

Even though we as a society may not see orphans on a daily basis they are there.  In our state alone there are over 4,000 children in foster care.  This orphan crisis is right in our backyard and the time is now to step in and love some of the world’s most vulnerable children.    
 
{Can you tell me more about the orphan care and adoption?}
 
We offer adoption grants to families adopting both international and domestic.
One of our current projects outside the States is building a children’s home in Honduras.  In February 2015, we teamed with a local organization in Honduras, just an hour outside of the city of San Pedro Sula.  We broke ground in September 2015 constructing our first children’s home in Honduras.  The children’s home was completed in July 2017 and just last week we welcomed our first little boy, Joshua, into the home. 
 
The children’s home in Honduras has a family-centered atmosphere where the children’s needs are the first order of importance, where the children will be given an opportunity to grow and flourish, to become educated, to gain self-confidence and self-respect, and be given an opportunity to learn the teachings of the Bible and grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
 
Our newest project is collecting comfort items for foster children.  Most often children enter foster care with very little and this leaves foster families scrambling to get all the things they need.  Our comfort packs alleviate some of those pressures.  Each pack is filled with thoughtfully picked items to help each child feel welcomed and comfortable when they transition into a new home.    
 
{How many families have you assisted in adoption?}
 
Adoption grants are one of the cornerstones of our ministry.  One of the primary barriers standing between children and families is the cost associated with adoption.  Our daily prayer is the see more orphaned children become sons and daughters.  With the help of our communities we will see children leave orphanages and join loving families.  Since 2014, we have awarded 13 families’ with adoption grants to help financially bring their child home. 
 
{Is there a favorite moment or story that has touched you during your time with Heritage Hills?}
 
One of our favorite moments is when we receive letters from our adoption grant recipients.  We received this sweet note from our February adoption grant recipient:
 
"Thank you Heritage Hills for helping us become a family of four! Audrey is almost 5 months old and is one of the happiest babies we know! She is rolling over, laughing, and loves to watch her big sister. So far, she is meeting all of her milestones and no issues with her gastroschisis or heroin exposure. We couldn’t be happier!  The Wendell Family"
 
It was through the help of our supporters that this sweet family was able to bring their daughter home.  Our hearts are bigger because of the joy we have seen and experienced through our adoptive families.
 
{How can others assist you in your ministry?}
 
Our passion is to serve the “least of these” in our state and around the world.  We want to see the number of orphans in the world decrease.  In order to accomplish this goal, we need people and communities to commit to this mission & actively promote orphan care.  Every child is a blessing from God and deserves the chance to experience His love and the love of a family. 
 
There have been so many people that have come along side Heritage Hills to support this effort prayerfully and financially.  We invite you to support this effort as well.  The only way for this ministry to be successful is through Godly people coming together in prayer and in service.
 
Ways to get involved:

• Donate to Heritage Hills (All donations are tax deductible)
• Sponsor a child for $40 a month
• Purchase a Comfort Pack for a foster child $35.00
• Encourage an adoption family or foster family
• Go serve orphans here in our state and around the world
• Pray for orphans and for organizations that care for orphans
• Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay connected
  
  

Our Contact Information:
Heritage Hills
3123 Hunsucker Lane NW
Brookhaven, MS 39601
Email [email protected]
Cell: 601-757-6536

What makes for a perfectly pink party?  Flamingos, face painting, popcorn and sweets galore!  We created a whimsical backyard birthday, complete with delightful details in an array of cheerful hues. 
 
As guests arrived, pink flamingos led them to a magical outdoor movie theater.  The backyard was transformed with a giant screen, colorful balloons sprinkled throughout the grass, and tables filled with boxed candy, cookies and ice cream.  As night fell, excited guests settled onto cozy palettes and turned their attention to the film.  What a memorable evening for the guest of honor, her friends and family!