Construction Zone
January 23 - April 18, 2010

At Omaha Children’s Museum, play gets even more active in the winter months. You can’t go outside as much, so come join us inside in Construction Zone! Work hard and play hard on this kid-powered construction site where kids can dig, design and build to their heart’s content. Parents, watch your little builders in action, or dig in with them for loads of fun.

BUILDING SITE – Use a number of building materials to construct your own creation. Use dominoes, a truckload of KEVA® planks, Legos®, Toobeez® and builder boards that allow for plenty of imagination and teamwork -- and of course, amazing structures. 

PULLEY PLACE – Kids use simple machines to load and lift soft blocks, then watch them go down the chute! Use pulleys to lift parachutes way up into the ceiling and delight as they are released to float to the ground.

PLAY HARD TO WORK HARD – Burn energy and build gross motor skills in this active play area complete with a Cone Zone obstacle course, crawl tubes a balance beam and large play system.

BIG DIG – Kids can play like they do in the outdoors at the Big Dig where giant dig pits are fi lled with kidpowered sand diggers, scoops, shovels, dump trucks and more.

DESIGN STATION – Arrange floor plans, learn about basic drafting and interior design in this space that gets your creative juices flowing and builds developmental skills in math and science.

SAFETY ZONE – Learn about being safe while working on the site! Try on kid-sized safety gear while you get to work with real hand tools and see how a house is constructed.

MASSIVE MACHINES – See actual construction vehicles parked in the exhibit. Come back often as the featured vehicle will change.

BUILD-A-FORT – Build and get inside of your own fort! Use materials that are created especially for fort building to create a structure big enough to get inside.


Media: Click Here for Additional Information

 
 
A Garden of Gizmos
October 10, 2009 - January 3, 2010

A Garden of Gizmos is a whimsical garden full of mechanical flowers, plants and creatures that are as mesmerizing and fun as they are educational. With 19 hands-on interactives, this exhibit entertains and engages children and adults alike.

Opening Day Fun! Saturday, October 10
On opening day, Hy-Vee floral will present a free workshop where kids learn about basic science of flowers, how they grow and how they are used in displays. Each child will make their own bouquet to take home! No registration is required, participation will be on a first-come, first-served basis at workshops at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo will also be present with its Nature Explorers program from 9 a.m-2 p.m.

A Garden of Gizmos is created by Clifford Wagner Science Interactives, Inc. and will be on display at Omaha Children’s Museum October 10, 2009 through January 3, 2010.

Admission for A Garden of Gizmos is $2 per person ages 2 and older. Regular museum admission applies.
 

light PLAY: A Celebration of Holiday Magic
November 28, 2009 - January 3, 2010 

A delightful holiday light show playing several times each day features lights and shapes that dance to memorable music. This year’s show features favorite holiday tunes in an original arrangement by the museum’s Artist-in-Residence Joey Gulizia.

Daily Show Times
Tuesday–Saturday: 10:30, 11:30 am, 1:30 & 2:30 pm

Sundays: 1:30, 2:30 & 3:30 pm

Additional Show: Tuesday at 9:30 am (during member hour)

Sesame Street Presents: The Body
May 23-September 6, 2009

Get to know what's under your skin at Sesame Street Presents: The Body. This amazing educational attraction teaches children how their bodies work and how to keep healthy as hop, jump, run and dance their way through this hands-on Sesame Street adventure!

Elmo will be visiting! See details below under Related Programs & Activities.

Your Insides
The body is an amazing, complicated machine and you can’t even see most of it... except here! Count your organs at the Count’s Organ Organ and see what happens to the food you eat at Oscar's Digestion.

Your Outsides
Learn all about the different body parts you can see, like your hands, your feet and your head. Learn what they do and put them to use to help Elmo ride a bike or see how high you can
make Grover jump.

How You Work
You'll learn what makes you tick, and even get the chance to put your body to the test at Super Grover’s Obstacle Course, Rosita’s Locomotion and Grover’s Dance party, a groovy disco where you can boogie along with Grover.

Staying Healthy
Staying healthy is one of your body’s most important jobs. Learn how eating healthy foods, exercising and resting help keep your body strong at Ernie’s Rub-A-Dub Tub and Baby Bear’s Mini Mart. 

Exhibit Admission:
Member Admission, Free
Non-Member Admission, $4*
*Regular Museum Admission Also Applies

Related Programs & Activities

Elmo Visits. Everyone's favorite furry red monster is making visits to the museum. Please visit the calendar for times (click on "month" button and select "Elmo Appearances" box). Included with admission to Sesame Street Presents: The Body.

Breakfast with Elmo. June 27 & July 11, 8-10 a.m. Tickets required. Families will eat a healthy breakfast, meet Elmo, enjoy other special surprises and visit Sesame Street Presents: The Body. Tickets are $25 for non-members and $20 for members. Children under 2 are free. Seating is limited. Click here to register online or call (402) 342-6164 x. 434 to purchase tickets.

Hy-Vee Kids Cooking Classes & Demos. Fridays & Saturdays through September 6. Kids will love making snacks athat are delicious and healthy, too. The Hy-Vee dietitians will present these workshops and demonstrations throughout the summer. Click here to download a PDF with information or see the calendar for details. Download yummy healthy recipes here: EZ Fruity Popcorn Snack. Raspberry Ripple Milkshake. Fruit & Cheese Butterflies. Husker Kabobs.


Exercise Fun with Prairie Life Fitness. Thursdays at 10:30 & 11 a.m. through September 6. Kids will get their hearts pumping in a short workout with Prairie Life Fitness. Workouts will feature a variety of age-appropriate exercises. Included with regular admission or membership.


Y is for Yoga. Tuesdays at 1 & 2 p.m. Join Kelli from LivYoga for this fun, educational class where kids can learn and practice stretching exercises that will enhance their strength, flexibility and confidence. Kids will use their bodies to become creatures from nature like frogs, birds and trees! Included with regular admission or membership.

International Children's Painting Competition
June 5 - September 6, 2009

The exhibition is part of the celebration of United Nations World Environment Day. The exhibition of 60 children’s paintings is organized annually by the United Nations Environment Programme and is sponsored by Bayer Corporation. The International Children’s Painting Competition invites chilren ages six to 14 to learn about the environment and express that knowledge creatively through art. Regional winners are selected from six regions including North America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, West Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe.

Exhibit Admission:
Member Admission, Free
Non-Member Admission, Free*
*Regular Museum Admission Also Applies

Headed to the White House
January 17-April 11, 2009

Students and families will have the opportunity to connect with the excitement, pageantry, and importance of presidential elections with the new exhibition, Headed to the White House, developed by the National Constitution Center. The 3,000 square foot exhibition will debut on January 17 to coincide with the January 20 inauguration of a new American president.

Visitors will be engaged in the sights, sounds, and excitement of presidential elections from the moment they cross the gallery threshold. Once visitors enter the exhibition, they are introduced to the electoral process with three audio-visual zones highlighting the historic elections of 1840 (Martin Van Buren vs. William H. Harrison), 1932 (Herbert Hoover vs. Franklin Delano Roosevelt), and 2008, before walking through a large, graphic image of the White House and onto the campaign trail.


 

Want More Information?
See a story on WOWT about Headed to the White House here.

SPEED
January 31-April 19, 2009

It's the fastest exhibit ever at Omaha Children's Museum!

With our society going ever faster these days, Speed chronicles our cultural and technological fascination with a 6,000 square-foot experience that transports guests into the world of high performance, barrier smashing motion.

Racing cars, planes boats and eccentric custom vehicles, are featured in the exhibit which engages guests of all backgrounds and ages. The experiences focus on the science and technology of pushing the envelope to achieve record setting speed while explaining the limits of getting there.
See the Television Commercial here!
See the YouTube Video here! 
Listen to the radio spot here!


Centris Federal Credit Union

 

DinO!saurs: A Prehistoric Expedition
June 7, 2008 - January 4, 2009

Learning comes alive with DinO!saurs: A Prehistoric Expedition. This exhibition brings a whole new herd of 13 robotic dinosaurs sure to entertain and educate young and old alike. Exhibit highlights include a 22-foot-long Tyrannosaurus Rex, plus other favorites including Triceratops, Stegosaurus and a Corythosaurus protecting her nest of eggs and hatchlings.





Against a realistic backdrop of lush scenery, the 10,000 square foot exhibit will include much more than dinosaurs: two rubbing stations, a Dinosaur Dig where guests can uncover fossils and a Duckbill Dinosaur robot that visitors can operate. No skin is attached to its robotic frame.

Additional components of the exhibit include Paleo Camp, where educational activities with museum staff will be offered throughout the day, as well as Jurassic Playground where kids can get physical with a climbing and play structure that features a climbing wall, two slides and binoculars in a lookout tower that provide a great view of T-Rex! Jurassic Playground is sponsored by Backyard Adventures.

	Creatures featured:
	Apatosaurus Tyrannosaurus Rex Tenontosaurus Deinonychus Corythosaurus Elasmosaurus Mosasaurus Pachycephalosaurus Stegosaurus Triceratops Two Young Triceratops Duckbill Dinosaur (Hands-on) Pteranodon