Dennis Regling Wonder Shows has a variety of outstanding science, math & character education shows for grades K-8. Fully insured, references available.
I'm in Michigan and my husband and I coordinated programs for our school for years. We brought in a lot of things but always had good luck with a company called Mobile Ed Productions. They have been around for thirty years and offer many different programs. Thy were all good but we particularly liked their Young Authors Day and Skydome. We looked into the Earth Balloon but found that the Mobile Ed program called The Earth Dome was the same thing but for a lot less money. My daughter loved that one! I liked the fact that the staff at their office were always available and very helpful. I think their website is just mobileedproductions
I would suggest looking at Young Audiences (
Young Audiences
), there are 31 chapters throughout the nation, the organization was founded in 1952 and its primary focus is in-school educational arts performances, workshops, and residencies. They maintain strict standards of quality control, impliment artist training and evaluation year round, to insure the best local arts programs to students.
Talk to the music directors at your local high school. Chances are they have attended the music teacher symposiums and have seen the latest/greatest in the area.
Same with artists - check the art teachers at the high school level, too.
Do you have a college within a 60 minute drive? they are also an affordable source for artists-in-residence.
Do you have a performing arts center nearby? The director can also be a great resource.
Check if your state has an "Arts Board" - I'm in WI, and Wisconsin has a Wisconsin Arts Board that lists all the state artists in a handy online database.
One of my absolute favorite assembly was the "Earth Balloon" from the Whereabouts people. They were so easy to deal with and the PTO coordinated a geography festival to go along with it.
I've had great success with talking to my local children's librarian. She's given me many great ideas and I have actually hired some of the performers she's had come in. She's also hired some of the people I've had come in for assemblies for children's programs at the library.
Some states also have a BOCES list of performers that have been approved in the past. I've also gotten recommendations from the teachers in my school and our county has once a year an artist showcase where you can go and talk to the performers.
Good luck with planning the cultural arts for your school! I've been doing my school for the past two years and will continue for the next two.
If you're in NY, I can send you links I've found very useful.
