By Kate Scriven
Have you visited Olympia’s new Hands On Children’s Museum? The flagship property, adjacent to Eastbay Plaza, recently celebrated its one year anniversary. The building is expansive, exhibits interactive and engaging, and spaces reflective of our South Puget Sound home. My children love it. And, when I’m not taking someone to the bathroom, retrieving red balls to be tossed once again into the water vortex, or managing glue sticks and markers, I notice that it’s pretty darn cool in there. But, before I can fully absorb the amazing model eagle’s nest perched high above us, we are off to the vet clinic where some puppy is no doubt in need of a check-up.
“When is it my turn?” I secretly ask myself. “I have elaborate plans for a high speed boat canal with a series of locks planned for that water table.”
Well, grown-ups, it’s our turn. The Hands On Children’s Museum is launching a new series of adults only events at the museum called Adult Swim. These events will allow us to play to our hearts content in the exhibits and participate in age appropriate activities (make your own beer coozie anyone?), all while sipping a cold beer or cocktail and noshing on tasty snacks (no goldfish crackers allowed).
The first event is slated for Friday, January 24 from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. The theme of the event is Beercraft: The Art and Science Behind Craft Brews. Mix and mingle with friends and neighbors, exploring the exhibits with no little ones underfoot. Your $15 cover includes free beer tasting and a souvenir glass along with terrific beer science activities throughout the museum. Regional breweries including Dick’s Brewing, Fish Brewing, Georgetown Brewing, Kastellan Brauerei, and Harmon Brewing will be pouring and Barb’s BBQ will be onsite with BBQ to purchase.
“This is a great way for us to reach out to a part of the community that may not have had a reason to come to the museum before,” shares Genevieve Chan, Communications Manager for the Hands On Children’s Msueum. While the museum has been a staple in Olympia for many years, they are a relative new kid on the block in the East Bay neighborhood. “People passed by daily on their way to work or on a jog or walk and watched the progress of the construction,” she shares. “And now we are open and have the addition of the new outdoor space. This gives everyone a chance to see what’s inside and explore the museum in a fun, party like atmosphere.”
Bring your friends and be ready for adults only time in the police car and on the slide, but also be ready for some terrific activities facilitated by the museum staff. Look for beer pretzel necklace making – a snack you can take with you – as well as science stations to learn about the difference between carbonated and nitrogenized brews such as Guinness. Feeling artsy? Stop into the second floor art studio to silk screen a souvenir t-shirt or create a custom coozie to take home. Guests will even be able to take a test to see if they are genetically predisposed to like IPA. Combine all this with the fun of the museum’s interactive exhibits, a DJ playing lively tunes, and great company and you have the makings of a terrific night out.
But, why is the event called Adult Swim? “It’s a throwback term to when there were community pools,” explains Chan. “The lifeguard would blow the whistle and all the kids would have to get out of the pool and it would be ‘adult swim’ where people could do laps or whatever they wanted.”
Beercraft is just the first in the year-long series of Adult Swims. The next one is scheduled for April 11 and will be called “Cocktails and Cosmonauts.” The evening will focus on cocktail mixology as well as the theme of space as it falls on the anniversary of the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin.
Tickets can be purchased through the Museum’s website or by visiting the new HOCM Adult Swim Facebook Page, a page to follow for adult only museum news. Grab a friend or two and check out the new space, enjoy some adult time, and definitely leave the kids at home.
Hands On Children’s Museum
Adult Swim – Friday, January 24
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
