Oser Communications Group

GENERAL NEWS MARCH 2014 n www.kitchenwarenews.com 6 Blendtec CEO Tom Dickson has donated $1 million and committed an additional $1 million toward construction of The Museum of Natural Curiosity, a $28.5 million children's science museum scheduled to open in Utah in May. Thanksgiving Point Institute, the nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that is spearheading the project, has recognized Dickson's contribution by naming the museum's education arm The Dickson Academy of Curiosity. Dickson's involvement was inspired by the museum's focus on hands‐on learning, experimentation and discovery – the same traits that led Dickson himself to become a serial inventor and successful businessman. His inventions include the first high‐speed grain mill and dozens of blender innovations that have been incorporated in the Blendtec line. He also participated in development of the first motion sickness patch and the only intrauterine device that has been on the market since the 1970s. Dickson also created and stars in the tongue‐in‐cheek " Will It Blend?" series on W illItBlend.com and YouTube, where he blends iPhones, marbles, golf balls and other objects in Blendtec machines to showcase the power of his products. The series is a viral marketing phenomenon, driven in part by the mad scientist persona that Dickson assumes on camera and that, again, matches his vision of the museum's role. "This museum has an approach that fits my view of how people learn best. It will encourage children to explore, tinker, question, think out of the box, use their imagination, and see where it takes them. I've built a career by following that path, and others can, too," Dickson said. "Now children in Utah will have a resource that fosters that kind of creative thinking by triggering their innate sense of curiosity." That goal will be achieved in part through The Dickson Academy of Curiosity, which will sponsor field trips, summer day camps and ongoing interactive educational activities under the supervision of eight full‐time educational staff and numerous volunteers. It will also be nurtured through the museum's 45,000 square feet of hands‐on, interactive education in five main exhibit areas including a Rainforest, Water works, Kidopolis, Traveling Exhibits, and a five‐acre outdoor Children's Discover y Garden. More than 300,000 visitors are expected at the museum each year, including children from underprivileged schools and Boys and Girls Clubs throughout Utah. It will be located in Lehi, halfway between Salt Lake City and Provo, at Thanksgiving Point, a farm, garden and museum complex that attracts more than 1.9 million annual visitors from all 50 states and around the world. The site is 16 miles from Blendtec's headquarters in Orem, Utah. Visit www.thanksgivingpoint.org/ support/museumofnaturalcuriosity for more information about the museum, and www.blendtec.com for more information about Blendtec. The Museum of Natural Curiosity Benefits from Blendtec CEO's Generosity The Zoku® Slow-Pop™ Mini Pop Molds, which make popsicles in a fun unique shape, have won a 2013 Good Design™ Award from the Chicago Athenaeum, the only independent museum of architecture and design in the United States. The Zoku Mini Pop Molds won based on multiple criteria including cutting- edge design, concept, materials, construction, utility, energy efficiency and sensitivity to the environment. Winners of the Good Design Award are displayed at www.chi- athenaeum.org and become part of the Museum's Permanent Design collection, exhibited in the United States and abroad. A first for the Good Design Awards, all winners will be displayed at the Chicago Athenaeum during the 2014 International Home & Housewares Show in March. Mini Pops can be easily made by pouring juice, chocolate, flavored yogurt or candy into the Slow-Pop Mini Pop Molds and then freezing. The set comes with a bright red Mini Pop Mold and nine reusable sticks with built-in drip guards. The contemporary design is lightweight, neat and easy to handle. Once the ingredients are poured into the flexible molds, a reusable stick is placed in each mold. After freezing, just pull up on a stick to release the pop. Unlike traditional freezer pops, Zoku Mini Pops do not need to be run under warm water to be released from the molds. The finished pops have a cute round shape that adds to their appeal. The entire set is BPA and phthalate free. U.S. and international patents pending. The Zoku Mini Pop Mold is part of the new Zoku Slow-Pop collection of freezer pop molds. Zoku also markets Quick Pop products that freeze pops on the countertop in as little as seven minutes. Available for immediate shipment, the Zoku Slow-Pop Mini Pop Molds have a suggested retail price of $16.99. For more information, visit www.zokuhome.com. Zoku Slow-Pop Mini Pop Molds Win 2013 Good Design Award

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