Noontime New Year

Activities & Programs

• Welcome Aboard Photo Area | All Day

  Stop by our photo area and take family pictures in front of our New Year’s Eve backdrop. A variety of photo props will be available for kids and their adults. 

• New Year’s Eve Hats & Headbands | All Day

  Get creative and design your own unique hat or headband to ring in the New Year! Choose from a variety of fun materials to customize your accessory, and take your one-of-a-kind creation home to wear for your celebration. It’s the perfect way to add a personal touch to your New Year’s Eve look!

• Colorful Countdown Numbers | All Day

  Get ready for the ultimate countdown! Pick a number template, then color and decorate it to create your own festive countdown piece. Use it during our museum-wide Noon Year’s Eve celebration to be part of the big moment, or take it home to help ring in the New Year.

• The Wish Tree | 10:00 AM-11:30AM

  Make your wishes come true! Share your hopes, dreams, and New Year’s resolutions by writing or drawing them on a message to hang on our Wish Tree. It’s a beautiful way to express your aspirations for the year ahead and be part of a community of dreamers. Stop by and add your wishes to the tree!

• Polar Discovery Time | 10:00 AM-11:30AM & 2:00 PM-3:30PM

  Bundle up for a cool adventure to the planet’s polar extremes! Explore the frosty landscapes of the Arctic and Antarctic, and meet the incredible creatures that thrive in the cold. Engage in exciting, hands-on winter-themed STEAM activities that bring the wonders of the poles to life. It’s a chill time full of fun, learning, and discovery.

• Discovery Time | 11:00AM

  Look, listen and sing! Gather ’round, friends. Join us as we sing songs or read stories the whole family can enjoy. 

• Countdown to Noontime | 11:45AM-12:00PM

  Gather in the Atrium for our communal countdown to 12 noon! Featuring dance music, guest volunteers, and a confetti-raining finale. Afterwards, toast the afternoon with juice and cookies. 

• Countdown to Noontime: Sensory Friendly Version | 11:45AM-12:00PM

  Sensory-friendly countdown to noon with us! This special celebration is designed for those with sensory sensitivities, featuring a quiet, lower noise level environment with no confetti. Enjoy a peaceful sensory friendly countdown led by our wonderful volunteers, and experience the joy of ringing in the New Year in a comfortable, welcoming space.

• Dance Party | 12:30PM & 3:30PM

  Enter our Playhouse theater and dance to celebrate the new year with instruments and scarves.

• Hip-Hop Fundamentals: Emceeing | 1:30PM

  Join Emcee Sethy K and DJ Wavy Jones on an exploratory journey through the music of Hip-Hop. Show off your freestyle rapping skills or use our template to create your own lyrics while you lay them down over pre-selected beats. 

• Hip-Hop Fundamentals: DJing | 2:30PM

  Join DJ Wavey Jones and Emcee Sethy K in a program about the elements of Hip-Hop. Learn about rhythm and beatmatching through games. Listen and try out different music making devices. Then volunteers will help create original remixes and catchy beats to rap or dance to.