Press Release – 3/19/19

645 0 15 Mar 2019

Society of American Magicians is Sponsoring Scholarships to the “Discover Magic” Educational Program in Hightstown New Jersey

 

National Educational Program Co-Created by Famed, Award-Winning Magician Michael Ammar Teaches Essential Life Skills to 8-12 Year Olds

 

 

Discover Magic, an innovative national educational program specially designed to teach key life skills to 8-12 year olds through the process of learning to perform magic has announced that The Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) has joined as sponsors of the Central New Jersey Discover Magic course led by local magic company Academy of Amazement.  Academy of Amazement has been teaching campers at summer camps for 12-years through the YMCA and is pleased to announce new classes being offered in Central New Jersey as we reveal new scholarship locations. The 1st round of scholarships for free tuition to a magic class and a free magic kit are being offered in Hightstown, New Jersey at the same location of local S.A.M. assembly number 181, the First United Methodist Church 187 Stockton St. 6-7pm on Thursdays.  The scholarships will be awarded publicly after a free magic show on April 11th at 6pm at the church and the course runs for 9 weeks starting April 18th until June 13th when we will host a student magic show and graduation ceremony for friends and family where they will receive graduation magic wands and certificates.

 

“We’re thrilled to have the Society of American Magicians join as sponsors of the Discover Magic program in Central New Jersey” said Erin Ray, Director of Magic Classes at Academy of Amazement.  They are graciously offering Central New Jersey several Scholarships for free tuition to a local Discover Magic class spread over the counties of Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean and Burlington.  Students who are awarded the scholarships and the other young magicians in the class will be invited to join the Chapter meetings in May and June on the 1st Thursday of the month to meet local magicians, learn a few more tricks and are invited to perform for the group.

 

Studies have shown that practicing the art of magic helps students to build key qualities like self-discipline, self-confidence and communication skills.  In fact, scientists frequently study magicians’ techniques to gain new insight into how the human mind works.  The Discover Magic course is an educational program specifically designed to teach not just magic, but how to interact successfully with other people. In fact, it’s best described as a life skills course built into a magic lesson. Kids become so engrossed and entertained in learning and performing the magic tricks they don’t realize they’re also developing incredibly valuable communication skills.

 

Every Discover Magic class features custom created props, one of the Traits of a True Magician, Top Secret Private files for every child, a custom graduation wand, and special Bonus material the kids can unlock with a secret code after class. On the last day of class the students continue to develop their skills through a student magic show and graduation ceremony as we celebrate each child’s achievements. The tricks taught are specially designed for small hands and first time learners that will not only fool adults, but will develop and unlock exciting possibilities in every child.

 

Academy of Amazement has been teaching magic and life skills to campers in the local YMCA’s of Central New Jersey for the last 12 years and has recently expanded to include summer camps at new locations and classes through the local recreation programs.  After being granted the license to teach the Discover Magic program in Central New Jersey, we want to spread the benefits of magic to kids across the state.  Magic has brought us countless hours of joy, made us laugh, discover our skills, overcome our weaknesses and have fun through positive interactions with people.  We want to “empower kids through magic; building character, confidence and communication skills for life.”

 

The Society of American Magicians is the oldest magic community in the United States created to unite lovers of magic across the nation, not just the professionals, but amateurs and hobbyists in a judgment free zone.  They want to promote the benefits of magic to our youth and are graciously offering the scholarships to help the youth of America gain a passion for magic and spread joy across the nation as they develop their skills.

 

New Jersey is fortunate to receive a few of those scholarships for our youth. The deadline for the Hightstown Scholarship is 11:59pm on Monday April 8th.

 

For more information on the locations offering scholarships and to apply, please visit www.AcademyofAmazement.com/scholarship.

 

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The Program

645 0 15 Mar 2019
    Over the Last 12 years we’ve been having fun teaching magic camp through the YMCA in Central New Jersey and aligned our program with their core values of Respect, Responsibility, Caring and Honesty. Recently, we expanded our core values to include the 8 traits of a true magician: Respectful , Prepared, Enthusiastic, Confident,  Creative,  Authentic, Humble and Giving. Magic is great for kids because it naturally teaches kids to be confident, communicate and have fun learning to practice independently so they can master a skill.
      Since we have chosen to convert our curriculum to the Discover Magic Program we are expanding our camps across Central New Jersey to include new locations for summer camp and through the school year. We’ve added a bunch of new locations and will continuously be adding more.  Kids deserve to benefit from the skills magic teaches them and I am stoked to be sharing this art with more kids across New Jersey.
     Last night I performed our What is Magic show at the Edison YMCA and want to compliment the students for being a wonderful audience. They learned that magic is science, math, art and theater and went home with additional tricks to practice. I look forward to seeing them at upcoming classes.
~Erin Ray