Bubbles, confetti to welcome new year at Children's Museum
It's tough to ring in the new year at midnight when you're supposed to be in bed several hours earlier.
That's where the DuPage Children's Museum comes in.
For the 17th consecutive year, the Naperville museum will host a New Year's Eve celebration on Monday, Dec. 31, that culminates at noon with a choice of three countdowns for parents and their kids.
In one part of the museum, a cache of bubbles will float through the air at precisely noon. In another, confetti will rain down upon revelers. For those who prefer a more serene scene, a countdown featuring quiet fun will usher in 2019.
"We kind of wanted to spread the fun around the museum," public programs coordinator Cassie Coffey said.
Called Family Fun New Year's Eve, the event is a fundraiser for the museum that will feature exhibits, entertainers and activities appropriate for children up to about age 10.
"This year we're taking a little different spin on it; we're really focusing on experiences," she said.
The museum's art studio will be illuminated with fluorescent lights to create a black light spectacle where children can play with fluorescent paints and tabletops, Coffey said.
Visitors will have the opportunity to contribute to a black light mural.
"We usually have a collaborative experience in the studio," she said.
Inside the museum's Good Show Gallery, a Sensoryland exhibit will give children the chance to experiment with a variety of sensory experiences.
And they can make 3-D cookie sculptures, a new activity added to the bash, that they can eat after they show off their work and admire their peers' creations.
"The cookies are already made. They pick and choose which ones they want to build something out of," Coffey said.
Kids also can create their own confetti poppers, ribbon wands and bubble wands.
"They'll be fashioning (the bubble wands) out of wire," Coffey said.
She said face painters will be on hand, along with face paint for do-it-yourselfers. And the museum will provide a wearable art station where children can put together their own holiday accent attire with a selection of fabrics, ribbons and pipe cleaners, along with an LED photo booth.
At 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., musician Duke Otherwise will perform in the creativity connection space.
"He performs these really funny interactive musical programs," Coffey said. "He plays the guitar. He's bringing some other band members to the event."
Coffey said tickets are available on the museum's Web page, via phone and at the event, while supplies last.
She said the bash typically draws between 600 and 800 people.
If you go
What: Family Fun New Year's Eve
When: 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Dec. 31
Where: DuPage Children's Museum, 301 N. Washington St., Naperville
Tickets: $20 for members, $25 for nonmembers; available at dupagechildrens.org/bubblebash, (630) 637-8000 and at the door
Info: www.dupagechildrens.org