Beware of Mad Scientists at the Hands On Children’s Museum 2014 Boo Bash

olympia halloween
Boo Bash promises costume fun and crafts for kids of all ages.
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By Kathryn Millhorn

olympia halloween
Boo Bash promises costume fun and crafts for kids of all ages.

Autumn is here to release the wild side in everyone.  Before winter keeps us drowsily indoors, we itch to cut loose and enjoy the riotous transitional colors of fall.  Said Hollywood director David Cronenberg, “everybody’s a mad scientist, and life is their lab.”

On Saturday, October 25, the inmates take over the asylum at the annual Hands On Children’s Museum Boo Bash.  So much more than just a Halloween costume party, the event began in 1998 and has entertained as many as 500 children at a time.

This year’s theme is science…mad and otherwise.  Boo Bash festivities will take place in various laboratories around the facility, all featuring crafts, learning, and hands on mayhem.  The Mad Science Lab will feature kid-made glow in the dark slime whereas the Candy Science Lab experiments on all your favorite sweet treats by blowing up marshmallows in a vacuum, hypothesizing whether certain candy bars will float or sink, and stacking sugar cubes to estimate the amount of sugar in each serving.

Education Department Coordinator Adrienne Testa says that for the more nature-minded, there will be owl pellets to dissect with a chart to determine the results, lots of animal bones and skeletons with magnifiers to examine them up close, and Frankenanimals built from a hair-raising combination of toy animal parts and your child’s wildest imagination.

olympia halloween
Everyday objects take on new life through the minds of junior Mad Scientists.

Museum Communications Manager Jillian Henze is excited because “your kids will really be able to get hands-on cool science that’s fun for all ages.”

There will also be a photo booth, face painting, play dough, squash bowling, a scavenger hunt, and the chance to get up close and personal with a live tarantula—if you dare.  The younger crowd (under age five) will also be able to participate and learn in their own, slightly quieter zone, accompanied by a skilled teacher and age appropriate activities.  Costumes are encouraged for everyone!

Doors to the event open at noon and pre-registration is very much recommended.   Existing members should arrive at 11:00 a.m. to enjoy an extra play hour before the Museum opens to the general public.

While visiting, ask about the Museum’s Winter Camps, half-day camps in December and January coinciding with the Olympia School District winter break.  The Museum also offers preschool and homeschooling opportunities as well.

Studies prove that “when you combine activities that require movement, talking, and listening, it activates multiple areas of the brain.”  As they’ve shown, hands-on = minds-on.  Olympia is blessed to have the Hands On Children’s Museum to provide fun, creative, gooey, sticky, sandy experiments seven days a week.  Boo Bash is just one more way to teach, learn, and have a great time.

olympia halloween
Find lots of hands-on experiments in the many Mad Science labs.

Tickets for the event are $8 for member kids and $10 for non-members; accompanying adults are $4 each.  Register online or by calling the museum at 360-956-0818.

Hands On Children’s Museum

414 Jefferson Street St NE in Olympia

Boo Bash – October 25 from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

 

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