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Friday, March 29, 2024

DuPage Children’s Museum hosts AWEsome 30th Birthday Splash!

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Above / Public is invited to walk through the Big Red Door to the 30th birthday party and opening of AWEsome Water Exhibit at the DuPage Children’s Museum, running June 24-25, 2017. (PN File Photos)

DuPage Children’s Museum is located at 301 N. Washington Avenue. 

DuPage Children’s Museum (DCM) officially turns 30 on Sat., June 24.  Celebrate DCM’s birthday party and the grand opening of AWEsome Water during a huge two-day birthday celebration June 24 – 25.

The opening of AWEsome Water marks the completion of DCM’s largest exhibit – AWESOME ENERGY. This weekend-long event celebrates 30 years of “Mission in Motion.” The event is free for members and open to the public with DCM admission.

Museum members and guests will enjoy a ton of activities and entertainment on both days. Festivities include Ice Chalk, Bubble Blower Art, Rubber Duck Excavations & Ducky Meet ‘n Greet, Face Painting, Giant Kerplunk, Messy Sensory Stations, DJ and Photo Booth. Mini cupcakes donated by Whole Foods Market will be available while they last. And a Giant Confetti Celebration begins at 4:30PM on Saturday and Sunday.

Entertainment 9AM-5PM Saturday and Noon-5PM Sunday

Kids always are attracted to water! 

A variety of live entertainment is planned each day. On Saturday, enjoy two performances of Ben’s Bubble Show at 11AM and 2PM. On Sunday, Mr. Freeze will put on a show at 1PM and 3PM.

In AWEsome Water, dive right in to experience the power and properties of water. Visitors will encounter a whimsical water sculpture, feel its spray droplets, and hear the bubbling of the lazy river at the Stream Table; create paths to move water through channels at the Magnetic Water Raceway; generate energy with moving water at the giant Waterwheel; and more.

“AWEsome Water is the playful culmination of over seven years of research, development, and design,” stated Kimberly Stull, DCM’s Director of Exhibits and Operations.  “Our new Stream Table was designed with over 80 feet of shoreline in descending sections to encourage a natural attraction for each age of child we serve.”

According to Stull, from the raceway at the top to the quiet pond at the bottom, many experiences are built into the table to engage children at each developmental level.  Adults and children alike will enjoy the whimsy of the new water sculpture, the power and surge of the oversized Waterwheel and the chutes and spinners on the Magnetic Water Raceway.

“We are so very excited to see this exhibit finally come to life, and be a powerful and beautiful new learning space for the families that visit the Museum,” added Stull.

Oh! The power of AWEsome exhibits!

AWEsome Water marks the completion of DCM’s largest exhibit – AWESOME ENERGY, which will cover one-quarter of the Museum’s 17,000 sq. ft. exhibit space. AWESOME ENERGY creates an immersive, interactive experience in three integrated sections: AIR, WATER, and ELECTRICITY. As children explore in a hands-on environment, discovering the scientific forces that power our world, they build creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving skills that will launch them into a bright future. AWESOME ENERGY represents years of research and testing with a team of educators, scientists, business leaders, parents, and children.

DuPage Children’s Museum, founded in 1987

Sarah Orleans, President & CEO, DuPage Children’s Museum

DuPage Children’s Museum was founded in 1987 by two early childhood educators from Hinsdale, Louise Beem and Dorothy Carpenter. From 1987-1988, the Museum was a wood-paneled station wagon that Beem and Carpenter drove to park districts, scout troops, preschools, and other organizations with portable exhibits. The first exhibit was called Ramps & Rollers, a collection of wooden troughs and blocks that children used to build ramps through which balls could be rolled.

“Now in its 30th year, DuPage Children’s Museum is a recognized national leader among children’s museums,” noted Sarah Orleans, President & CEO, DuPage Children’s Museum. “We welcome everyone to join us as we celebrate 30 years of ‘Mission in Motion.’ Our success would not be possible without the support and confidence in our mission that is held by so many for this Naperville landmark and Chicagoland institution.”

With gratitude to AWEsome sponsors

The AWEsome 30th Birthday Splash is sponsored by Dover Foundation; Exelon; Ronald L. McDaniel Foundation; Molex, LLC; Nicor Gas; PNC Bank; Sidley Austin; British Swim School; and Whole Foods Market.

AWESOME ENERGY is presented by Dover Foundation and sponsored by The Christopher Family Foundation; Exelon Foundation; Institute of Museum & Library Services; Open Road Alliance, an advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation; Tellabs Foundation; City of Naperville’s Special Events Cultural Amenities Fund; Kazma Family Foundation; Alphawood Foundation Chicago; Blueair; Dave and Dawn Kelsch & Family; Molex, LLC; Brighton Car Wash & Detail Center; Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley; Crowe Horwath LLP; Ecolab; Energy Services Air Conditioning, Heating & Electrical; Nicor Gas; SunCoke Energy; The Brinson Foundation; Susan R. Korsower Charitable Fund; Alben F. Bates and Clara G. Bates Foundation; and RR Donnelley Foundation.

For more information about the AWEsome 30th Birthday Splash and the grand opening of AWEsome Water or about the Museum,  visit dupagechildrens.org.

Story submitted by Dee Dee McDevitt for the DuPage Children’s Museum.

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DuPage Children's Museum
DuPage Children's Museumhttp://dupagechildrens.org/
The DuPage Children’s Museum’s mission is to stimulate curiosity, creativity, thinking and problem solving in young children through self-directed, open-ended experiences; integration of the arts, science and math; the child-adult learning partnership.

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