10…9…3…2…1. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Bubbly New Year’s Eve Educational Blog
10…9…3…2…1. HAPPY NEW YEAR! The age-old adage that people around the world celebrate together marks the beginning of a new year. Toasting with bubbly champagne, making resolutions, staying up to midnight, playing games, whatever your tradition is… it’s a time for celebration! But how do we include our little ones in an event that seems so geared toward adults? Here at the Omaha Children’s Museum, we strive to do just that!
We have gone out of our way to adapt as many traditions as we could think of for our celebration! We stay open later so kids can play and perhaps stay up past bedtime? We also do countdowns every hour, complete with a song and bubbles to celebrate the new year so that no matter what your schedule or routine looks like, you can still have that New Year’s Eve experience! We lean into the play on words, with “Bubbly” being our theme. Bubbles are everywhere! Our science show, countdowns, activities, and more!!
In fact, we lean into bubbles so much that it has become part of our educational goals for this event. The museum always strives to hit a number of educational goals during a regular stay. For example, inquisitive play, social play, gross motor play, etc, and you can find all of those examples in our activities for New Year’s Eve. I wanted to lean into two aspects of education for this event: Gross motor and Sensory. With the countdowns every hour, we play the infamous “Baby Shark” song, inspiring children to dance and celebrate! We will also have a DJ from SDMDJ Entertainment holding a baby rave in one of our open exhibits. Many children’s songs will play all day, inspiring families to dance together. If you need another activity in this space to inspire you, there will be inflatable balls for you to play keepy-uppy with as well! These activities encourage large gross motor movement, hand-eye coordination, as well as family interaction. These are all incredibly important skills for children. In fact research suggests that listening to music not only helps inspire movement, but it increases memory skills, and can help regulate emotions and allow children a creative outlet for releasing feelings they don’t have the verbal skills to express.
We also use this event to allow sensory freedom. While in our culture, we are aware that the sensory processes of children on the Autism Spectrum may be unique, we tend to focus on children who need quiet spaces with less stimulation. However, some children who fall on the Spectrum actually seek out activities with high sensory experiences. Our dance room, with the pounding music and lights, can be a great place for those individuals to find the sensory needs they crave. On the opposite side, our STEAM Cave will have lowered lights, calm music, and bubble sensory bins for everyone to enjoy! This can be great for individuals who enjoy unique tactile experiences. There will be real soap bubbles and toys for children to spend as long as they need to in the area. The soap will also help with a nice, clean scent to help encourage deep breaths to regulate any overstimulation and emotional outbursts that young ones could experience.
It is important to note that all children (and adults) can experience overstimulation. If your child starts throwing tantrums or, on the opposite end, seems to be shutting down… this could be a sign of overstimulation. And let’s be honest, the Children’s Museum can be a very stimulating place! If you ever need a quiet pace to calm down, our Family Discovery Room in the Imagination Playground is a perfect place to regroup. This room is accessible every day that we are open. During our Special Event Weekends, we will add an extra activity that will coincide with the theme for that weekend. We will have bubble wrap taped onto the tile for our Bubbly New Year’s Eve Celebration. This is a great tactile sensory experience and gross motor activity. On top of the educational benefits, it can benefit a child experiencing big emotions to stomp out the energy onto the bubble wrap. We hope the Family Discovery Room can be a refuge for all who need it.
The Omaha Children’s Museum takes pride in being a safe place for all families from all backgrounds to play. By making sensory-friendly areas, we strive to be inclusive and helpful to children experiencing different sensory needs and to assist with regulating emotions. Please note that if your child is overstimulated and you need extra assistance, we provide sensory bags at the front desk for your use. These typically include noise-reducing headphones, timers, fidgets, and more. Please ask any employee about our sensory bags; they would be happy to help you. If you are interested in our Sensory Friendly hours and events, you can email info@ocm.org or contact the Autism Action Partnership.
