DuPage Childrens Museum

The DuPage Childrens Museum is at 301 N. Washington St., Naperville. Parking is free. Wheelchair accessible. For hours, admission and membership packages, visit dupagechildrensmuseum.org or call (630) 637-8000.

Tiny Great Performances, Family Fun Friday Nights and other events listed are free for Museum members and/or with Museum admission, and no registration is required. Creativity Classes require pre-registration and separate fees.

Dec. 26-30

Famous Creatures Studio Drop-In: Draw a fantastic creature from your favorite story, movie or your imagination. Morning and afternoon sessions are scheduled on most days; free with admission or membership. Check the website for details or to view a weekly schedule of alternating math-, science-, art- and literacy-focused activities in the Museum’s Art Studio.

Dec. 27-28

9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Winter Break Camp: Cool Chemical Concoctions (Ages 7-10): Slime, bubbles and fizzing rule as we do cool chemistry experiments with everyday products and materials. Member $110 per camp session, Nonmember $120. Pre-registration and pre-payment are required; enrollment is limited.

Dec. 31

10:30 a.m.–Noon Bubble Bash 2012 at Wentz Concert Hall: Don’t miss DuPage Children’s Museum’s 11th annual family-friendly New Year’s Eve Celebration, taking place this year at North Central College. Featuring music by Jeanie B. and the Jelly Beans and entertainment by Geoff Akins, The Bubble Wonder Man.

Member $10, Nonmember $15 (an additional $2/ticket box office service charge will apply). Reservations are required. Tickets are available online though Wentz Concert Hall Box Office.

Dec. 31 and Jan. 1

DuPage Children’s Museum closed.

To Jan. 27

New Traveling Exhibit — How People Make Things: Every object in our world has a story of how it’s made. How People Make Things, a new traveling exhibit created by Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, tells that story by linking familiar childhood objects to a process of manufacturing that combines people, ideas and technology. Inspired by the factory tour segments from the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood television series, the exhibit offers hands-on activities using real factory tools and machines to create objects including crayons, a baseball bat and a Matchbox car, just to name a few. You’ll discover how familiar the story of manufacturing is to all of us.

Jan. 2-6

Drawing from Life, Studio Drop-in: Draw from four different still-lives using oil or dry pastels on colored paper to express what you see. Morning and afternoon sessions are scheduled on most days; free with admission or membership.

Jan. 2-4
9 a.m.–Noon: Winter Break Camp: Jedi Engineering (Ages 5-6): Play-Well TEKnologies Engineering with LEGO Camp. Young Jedi will explore worlds far, far away and engineering principles right in front of them. Build planes, droids and palaces inspired by designs made in a galaxy far, far away. This is an offering of original design for young Jedi from Play-Well TEKnologies. $120 member/$135 nonmember. Pre-registration and pre-payment are required; enrollment is limited.

1-4 p.m. Winter Break Camp: Sportsbots with LEGO (Ages 7-10): Play-Well TEKnologies Engineering with LEGO Camp. Design and build motorized, remote-controlled sports bots to compete in rousing games of soccer, hockey, basketball, football, quidditch and bocce, among others. Or invent your own sport! Instruction provided by staff, but familiarity with the LEGO® Technic building system is desirable. $120 member/$135 nonmember. Pre-registration and pre-payment are required; enrollment is limited.

Jan. 3-4

9 a.m.–1 p.m. Winter Break Camp: Fantastic Mask Making (Ages 7-10). Create a life mask of your own face and then turn it into a fantastic creature! Add horns, curls, spikes or other details you imagine your creature would have. Then experiment with other mask-making techniques and learn creative ways to put them all together. $110 member, $120 nonmember. Pre-registration and pre-payment are required; enrollment is limited.

Jan. 7-13

Sculpt a Circus, Studio Drop-in: Create your own circus character or animal. Estimate lengths of wire to use, bend lines into three-dimensional shapes while building artwork with beads, wire, corks and cloth just as Alexander Calder created for his family. Morning and afternoon sessions are scheduled on most days; free with admission or membership.

Jan. 7

9:30–10:15 a.m. Early Evening Exploration, A Start in Science Series Class (Ages 2-3). Explore the sun, moon and stars in this artful look at the science of the early evening sky. Create art inspired by the blended colors of a Monet sunset and the swirling stars in van Gogh’s Starry Night. Pre-registration and pre-payment required. Member/Child Partner $15, Nonmember/Child Partner $21.

Jan. 9

9:30–10:15 a.m. Art in the Tropics, A Start in Art Series Class (Ages 2-3). Mix tropical colors to bring warmth to your cold day. Paint and create with colored sands and collage a mask to remind you of a hot day filled with art, music and a tropical treat. Pre-registration and pre-payment required. Member/Child Partner $15, Nonmember/Child Partner $21.

Jan. 11

6 p.m. DCM Family Fun Friday Night: The American Songbag by Carol Weston. Extended hours on Friday nights. Carol Weston will be performing songs from her American songbook that she has collected over her years as a folk musician. In addition to singing and playing acoustic guitar, she will introduce children to other fascinating aspects of folk cultures from around the world, including the banjo, mbira and Limberjacks. The American Songbag is a sing-along, foot-stompin’ good time for all ages that includes many all-American favorites and familiar show tunes.

Jan. 13

2 and 2:45 p.m. Tiny Great Performance: Perceptual Motion, Inc. Original choreography by Perceptual Motion, Inc. will highlight DCM’s newest exhibit How People Make Things and will have children up and dancing.

Jan. 14-20

Masks from Around the World, Studio Drop-in. Look at masks from Africa, Japan and Mexico and imagine them as characters in stories. You can use magazine materials to collage a mask of your own.

Jan. 15

4-5 p.m. Painting a Colorful January, A Start in Art Series Class (Ages 4-6). Paint a sculpture that you create, brighten painted hues on a light table and create a colorful mask to liven up a gray winter day. Pre-registration and pre-payment required. Member/Child Partner $15, Nonmember/Child Partner $21.

Jan. 16

10 a.m.–Noon Insect Zoo. Have you ever wanted to get nose-to-nose with a praying mantis? Pet a giant pumpkin millipede as long as your hand? See how far a giant lubber grasshopper can jump? The experts from Anderson Pest Solutions will introduce children to nature’s most interesting bugs. Find out how, as nature’s recyclers, these insects contribute to our environment.

Jan. 17

5–7 p.m. Third Thursday is a time designated for families of children with special needs to enjoy the Museum. DCM is an ideal location for all learning abilities. Special activities last until 7 p.m.

Jan. 18

9:30–10 a.m. Your Senses, A Start in Science Series Class (Ages 18-24 months). Get your senses tingling with these guided activities to introduce the science of your five senses! Taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing are still the best tools for young learning. Pre-registration and pre-payment required. Member/Child Partner $12, Nonmember/Child Partner $18.

Jan. 21-27

Make a Poster! Celebrate the work of Toulouse-Lautrec, Studio Drop-in. Create your own poster using the red, black and white paint seen in famous images by Toulouse-Lautrec.

Jan. 22

9:30–10:15 a.m. Wheels, A Start in Science Series Class (Ages 2-3). Roll into this class and explore the science of the wheel, one of the six simple machines in physics. Roll paint brushes, make your own car and create tracks in this class all about movement. Pre-registration and pre-payment required. Member/Child Partner $15, Nonmember/Child Partner $21.

Jan. 25

6:00–8:00 p.m. DCM Family Fun Friday Night: Family Math Night. Enjoy math activities throughout the Museum. During the school year, DuPage Children’s Museum will have extended hours on Fridays until 8 p.m.

Jan. 26

2 and 2:45 p.m. Tiny Great Performance: Dave Seagren and his Tropical Sound Steel Pan. Dave Seagren and his Tropical Sound Steel Pan bring the spirit of the Caribbean Islands to life with a variety of tropical music styles including reggae, calypso, socca, Latin and pop. Experience the sound of the Caribbean as Dave plays his steel drum or “PAN,” an instrument hand crafted from a fifty-five gallon steel oil drum.

Jan. 27

1–3 p.m. Meet Mr. McFeely from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Mr. McFeely, the Speedy Delivery man from the popular children’s television series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, will make a special appearance at DuPage Children’s Museum, kicking off a winter sweater drive benefitting local charitable organizations. The event also marks the culmination of How People Make Things, a traveling exhibit inspired by the factory tour segments from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Jan. 28-Feb. 3

Paint What You Hear, Studio Drop-in. Look at Wassily Kandinsky’s work while you listen to Brahms, Bach and Beethoven. Paint with watercolors while you express what you hear. Which colors sound like a drum, what brush stroke looks like a guitar or flute? Morning and afternoon sessions are scheduled on most days; free with admission or membership.

Jan. 28

9:30–10:15 a.m. All About Shape, A Start in Math Series Class (Ages 2-3).Paint, stamp, and collage with geometrical shapes to create designs and pictures made of circles, squares and triangles. Pre-registration and pre-payment required. Member/Child Partner $15, Nonmember/Child Partner $21.

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