If you ask 8-year-old Giana Wall about her favorite television show she'll give you a hesitant look.

Ask about the citizen scientist program she participated in while heading to explore Antartica, and her eyes light up.

She starts talking phytoplankton and microplastics. Then she'll talk about crossing the Drake Passage, encountering chinstrap penguins, and what's it's like to see an ice berg as big as a building.

That's right, the third grader at the Chatfield-Lopresti School in Seymour is an experienced world traveler, thanks to her parents, Lana and Gil.

Please click play to listen to the family share their travel adventures, and how the family plans to visit Giana's seventh continent by the time she turns 10.

This podcast is sponsored by ValleyGivesBack.org.

Seymour's Chris Bowen is the guest on the latest episode of 'Navel Gazing: The Valley Indy Podcast.'

Click play to listen.

Bowen is a member of the Seymour Economic Development Commission, a five-member panel trying to improve Seymour's business atmosphere.

The commission recently decided to hire the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) to act as economic development director for Seymour.

It's a new approach to economic development in Seymour. Previously the town had a Realtor working in the position part-time.

Bowen said a specific dollar amount to bring on CERC has not been finalized, but that he expects the town to get more bang for its buck.

Bowen also said the money to hire CERC is coming from his commission's budget.

"Bringing in CERC -- who have received plaudits for their work in Hamden and Beacon Falls, among other communities -- allows us to put our EDD role into the hands of experienced people with greater resources, while also giving us the benefit of an outsider's perspective, an important tool in a small town like Seymour, where tenured personalities tend to hold disproportionate sway -- and an available resource for people with questions about investing in our town," Bowen said in a Facebook post.

Ansonia Economic Development Director/Grants Writer Sheila O'Malley is the guest on the latest Valley Indy 'Navel Gazing' podcast.

Press play to listen to O'Malley talk about how city government erred when it hinted at legal action against a government "parody" page on Facebook.

Then O'Malley talks about a public hearing scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday March 12 on the Connecticut City and Town Development Act.

The act gives towns such as Ansonia more power to offer economic incentives aimed at problem problem properties such as the former Ansonia Copper and Brass in the downtown area.

O'Malley also talks about Main Street Ansonia being designated as a federal "opportunity zone," another tax-break program meant to attract investors to struggling cities.

Finally, O'Malley gives her two cents on the Route 34 widening project in Derby. The project still hasn't gone out to bid, but a state contractor recently began dismantling buildings on the south side of Main Street to make room for the expanded road.

This podcast is sponsored by ValleyGivesBack.org.