Submitted photo The kidscommons children’s museum entrance at 309 Washington St. in downtown Columbus.
Experience the northern lights, build your own snowman, participate in a snowball fight and more as kidscommons transforms into a Winter Wonderland Friday as part of a collaboration with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bartholomew County.
From 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., each floor of kidscommons will be full of winter-themed educational programs, stations and games for all ages, museum educator Brittany Snowden said. On the first floor, kids can make their own snowmen using cardboard boxes, or view an aurora on the ceiling before making their own out of chalk on the third floor, she said.
“Second floor, we’re going to do some snowball catapults and (a) ski jumping activity, and then a no-sew scarf will also be an activity within the museum. So… a lot of STEM activities,” Snowden said. “And then in the art room, we’ll have a snowstorm in a jar, so they’ll see a reaction between Alka Seltzer, baby oil and some paint. It’s fun, it can be a little messy, but it’s fun.”
Hot cocoa and s’mores will also be available, as well as hair tinsel. Half of all proceeds from the event will go towards the Bowling for Kids Sake team with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bartholomew County organization, Snowden said. Marketing and Development Coordinator Taylen Lane said the event came about because of kidscommons staff member Bella Nickerson’s involvement with the organization.
“One of our staff members that actually works at kidscommons, she’s a huge part of Bowling for Kids Sake and so she reached out to us and asked if kidscommons would be able to do some sort of fundraising, and this is what we came up with so we’d be able to help her out and give her back half of the proceeds to go towards it,” Lane said. “So, it’s super cool we’re able to collaborate with them as well as one of our younger staff members putting this on with us.”
Snowden hopes they have a lot of families come by to learn and contribute to the fundraiser. She said people can look forward to coming in and having a great time learning, playing and exploring, all while helping Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bartholomew County. Both her and Lane hope the event leads to more collaboration in the future with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bartholomew County and kidscommons, in addition to other organizations.
Tickets cost $5 for adults and $15 for kids ages 2 to 17. Tickets are available on kidscommons’ website at https://www.kidscommons.org/. The ticket also includes museum admission.
