Gainesville’s Cade Museum celebrates its fourth birthday in May

The Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention turns four this month, according to a recent press release, and, per tradition, has planned several special events to celebrate the milestone.

Cupcakes will be served to museum guests on Saturday, May 21, at 1:30 p.m. (until supplies last), followed by the 2022 Codebotics Competition at 2 p.m.

The birthday celebration will then culminate with the premiere of the museum’s latest exhibition “Animationland”—an “eagerly awaited” event, according to the press release, which has traveled all the way from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and draws visitors into the creative and production processes that make cartoons and other animations come to life.

“The activities we have planned for the Cade’s birthday weekend represent what the Cade brings to our community,” said CEO Stephanie Bailes. “We inspire future inventors, entrepreneurs and visionaries. We are transforming our community by helping children prepare for a future full of challenges we can’t yet begin to imagine.”

The Codebotics Competition will challenge junior programmers, children in grades 3-6, to work in teams on solving puzzles and navigating their robots through obstacle courses, according to the press release, all accomplished through their beginners’ command of computer algorithms and the basics of coding using Dash robots by the Wonder Workshop.

“The world is changing so fast we may not know what jobs will look like in 20 years, but we do know that these young innovators will need coding skills, teamwork, imagination and creativity to succeed,” said Bailes, adding that as the Cade grows each year, “the museum’s outreach extends to more families, surprising and delighting visitors with creative, outside-the-box programming that entertains and inspires guests of all ages.”

The Cade Museum, located at 904 S. Main St., Gainesville, is named after Dr. Bob Cade, the lead inventor of the sports drink Gatorade, who was a tireless educator, doctor, researcher, poet and musician, and whose pioneering spirit and zest for life inspires the Cade Museum’s innovative programming, according to museum literature.

“We’re sure Bob Cade would smile with pride in view of all we’ve accomplished the past four years,” said Bailes.

For more information, call (352) 371-8001 or visit the museum’s website at www.cademuseum.org.