HOLIDAY SCIENCE
Children’s Museum of Science and Technology offers Sensational Snowflakes program
TROY, N.Y. » One local museum has lots in store for children this holiday season to keep them thinking about science and technology over the school vacation.
On Saturday, the beginning of most school breaks, a group of kids from around the Capital Region spent the afternoon at The Children’s Museum of Science and Technology, where a seasonal Sensational Snowflakes program was being offered for museum goers.
In the hands-on activity, young participants explored how and why snowflakes are formed, and had the chance to create a special snowflake or two to take home that day.
Held on the first day of winter, the program was meant to tie in with the season, said museum educator and volunteer coordinator and Hannah McClearnen, who was running the Sensational Snowflakes event.
“This is just because it’s winter. The snow is a lot of fun. Everyone loves snow,” she said before going over the basics of the water cycle attendees
Parents who brought their children to Saturday’s program thought it would be a nice educational activity for a winter afternoon.
“It was something for him to do on a cold weekend day,” said Niskayuna dad
Chris LaVenture as his fiveyear-old made some snowflake art. Programs like this one will continue throughout the coming week and into the new year.
“We want to make sure that there are opportunities for families to enjoy time out together and investigate the fun of science while kids are out of school,” said Catherine Gilbert, vice president at The Children’s Museum of Science and Technology.
In addition to local families, the Troy museumsees a lot of folks from out of town who are visiting the area for the holidays during this time
of year, Gilbert noted.
Activities planned for the days ahead include a riddle solving scavenger hunt, some “Beat The Clock!” science challenges and a Hudson River Experience, along with multiple Astonishing Animals, Simply Science, Exciting Engineering and Full STEAM Ahead sessions.
Though the museum will be closed Dec. 24 through 26 for Christmas, it will be open on Dec. 23 and 30, which are Mondays when the museum is typically closed. On New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, the museum will present its annual “Noon Year” celebration, when youngsters will count down to noon rather than midnight and march in a museum-wide parade.
All are invited to ring in the Noon Year with laughter, learning and fun. “Noon Year is very exciting. It’s super fun,” Gilbert said, explaining the event’s purpose. “The opportunity for kids to be able to celebrate at a child-friendly time is our aspiration.” This year, the museum has chosen Frozen Science as a theme for this event, with several activities that will investigate the cool science of all things frozen. They include creating a crown and winter wand, meeting live animals, moving around in the CMOST Dance Party, making glitter slime in icy cold colors, engineering a minicastle made of ice, decorating sugar cookies and enjoying a hot chocolate bar, plus additional pop-up activities. The event is suitable for all ages. All activities are included with museumadmission, which is $8 per person, or free for those younger than age two. There is no need to preregister.
Those who haven’t visited The Children’s Museum of Science and Technology in a while may also be interested in checking out the new space exhibit, which recently made its debut in the fall.