Stepping Stones Museum for Children Brings Light to Learning

We’ve decked the halls. We’ve made our lists and checked them twice. We’ve lit our tree during our Get Into It! FREE annual tree and courtyard lighting ceremony. And now, Stepping Stones Museum for Children is proud to usher in a season of sparkle and delight during this most wonderful time of the year. During the museum’s inaugural Worldwide Community Lights Celebration, Stepping Stones is bringing light to learning with weeks of engaging, illuminating, interdisciplinary, content-rich adventures. Through December 31, experience the magical museum in a whole new light while creating many fun and lasting memories for you and your family.

What a bright time… at Stepping Stones as the award-winning, children’s museum focuses its energy on light during the Worldwide Community Lights Celebration. Explore the sensory science of light, color, shadows and water; discover natural light's importance to life on earth and find your inner light - how you share and reflect light upon yourself and others. There will be weekend ice sculpting demonstrations, festive character visits, creative dramatic performances, enlightening explorations of some of the world’s December holiday celebrations, a special series of member-exclusive mornings and so much more!

It’s the right time to rock the night away… as the museum introduces Light Nights, a special schedule of extended, evening hours filled with light-based learning, holiday hi-jinx and brain-building fun each Friday during December. Simply put, Stepping Stones is lit during this festive season! During these Light Nights events, the museum stays open until 7:00 pm as we put a bright spotlight on the Worldwide Community Lights Celebration. And, since this is the season of giving, the museum is offering FREE warm beverages to all visitors during these magical evenings. The Light Nights events will take place on December 7, 14, 21 and 28 as well. Regular admission policies apply.

Jingle bell time, it’s a swell time… to come check out how the museum’s iconic entrance, tented courtyard, glass corridors have been illuminated — becoming a shimmering, glowing, dazzling backdrop against the approaching winter’s chill. And to top it off, there’s our most knowledgeable Bird, lit with a stunning array of ever-changing lights sitting prominently on the cupola above the museum’s whimsical building structure.

Every day of the Worldwide Community Lights Celebration turns on children to tons of high-voltage fun and a slew of hands-on, enlightening learning experiences. So here’s “watts up” with the schedule of special events taking place during the Lights Celebration:

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 14, 21 and 28
Light Nights 5:00 – 7:00 pm
Here’s “watts up!” Stepping Stones is lit each Friday night in December with a special schedule of extended, evening hours filled with enlightened learning, holiday hi-jinx and high-voltage fun. Warm beverages are on us during these magical evenings.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9,
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11
Kaleidoscope Days
Join us in the FTRC as we construct a family-sized interactive kaleidoscope. Using angled mirrors, light and found objects to create colorful patterns and images, we guarantee that no two views through our kaleidoscope will be the same!

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12 – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 24
12 Days of Sharing
We’ve started a new tradition of our own this month – the 12 Days of Sharing! Visit us often from December 12 – 24 as we celebrate the reason for the season during this time. Our friendly and festive characters will be sharing their light and spreading cheer and memories with you and your family; our Family Teacher Resource Center (FTRC) team will share playful learning take-away activities for you and your family to enjoy at home and our educators and Play Explorers are excited to share many games, programs and activities which deliver our trademark brand of playful learning and illuminating fun.

Through December 19, you can help us brighten a child’s hospital stay during the holiday season by purchasing and donating a BooZoo™ plush toy doll that will be delivered just before Christmas to a child at one of five partner, local hospitals. Visit www.steppingstonesmuseum.org/boozoo to donate.

Santa and Friends
December 12 – December 16; December 18 – December 23
11:00 – 11:45 am; 3:00 – 4:00 pm

Monday, December 24 (Christmas Eve)
11:00 – 11:45 am; 2:00 – 3:00 pm
Santa will be making a special trek from the North Pole to meet and greet with our visitors, take pictures and introduce you to some of his friends.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15 – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16
Enlightening Ice Art Noon – 2:00 pm
Baby, it’s cold outside – the perfect weather for ice sculpting out in the Celebration Courtyard. Join us as our master artist takes a 300-pound block of ice and carves a sculpture of our mascot BooZoo™ on Saturday and the majestic Bird from our cupola on Sunday.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22
Enlightening Ice Art 10:00 am – noon
The cold doesn’t bother us anyway. That’s perfect weather for ice sculpting out in the Celebration Courtyard. We’ve encouraged our master artist to “let it go” as he carves takes a 3,000-pound block of ice and turns it into a Frozen masterpiece, a life-sized sculpture of Kristoff’s sleigh.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24 Open until 3:00 pm

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25 Closed for Christmas

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26 – MONDAY, DECEMBER 31
Winter Vacation Week
Stepping Stones (Hearts) Our Members! Stepping Stones opens for our members every day this week at 9:00 am on Tuesday, December 25 through Sunday, December 30 from 9:00 – 10 am with special moments planned in the Light Treasures Workshop. During our general visitation hours, daily programs include brilliant light and shadow investigations in the Sensory Science Lab; festive making in the Light Treasures Workshop; performances of a Stepping Stones original, Elli Dee and a Brief History, followed by the Ellie Dee Dance Party; guest appearances by the Stepping Stones Light Scientists and our mascot BooZoo™ and so much more.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29 – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30
Enlightening Ice Art Noon – 2:00 pm
Baby, it’s cold outside – the perfect weather for ice sculpting out in the Celebration Courtyard as we Countdown to 2019. Join us as our master artist takes a 300-pound block of ice and carves a sculpture of our iconic tower and the numerals 2-0-1-9 on Saturday and BooZoo™ on Sunday.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 31 Open until 3:00 pm
Countdown to 2019
Save the Date for New Year’s Eve celebration at Stepping Stones as we experience the excitement of a grand countdown to New Years at a reasonable hour and with playful hearts, innovative minds and outstretched arms! Join BooZoo and friends on December 31 beginning at 11:00 am for a spectacular Countdown to 2019 New Year’s Eve Celebration in the Multimedia Gallery. Move and groove on the dance floor. Share a special new year’s resolution or tell a funny joke at the open mic. Make party hats, superhero capes, masks, music makers and more over-the-top-fun!

TUESDAY, JANUARY 1 Closed for New Year’s Day

“The ‘Worldwide Community Lights Celebration’ is a wondrous way to tell the multicultural stories of the holiday season and provide lasting memories for you and your family,” said Rhonda Kiest, President and Chief Executive Officer of Stepping Stones Museum for Children. “Every day, Stepping Stones will be showcasing the important role of light in our daily lives and how our understanding of the science of light enhances our understanding of the world. These amazing, interactive light experiences will encourage play-based learning and experimentation that our visitors will enjoy and lead to amazing discoveries.”

Another component of the “Worldwide Community Lights Celebration” puts a spotlight on the reason for the season. Now through December 31, every new or renewed Family Membership will be matched using funds raised through Open Arms, the museum’s accessibility initiative, to provide a Family Membership to a family in need. By purchasing or renewing your Stepping Stones Family Membership before December 31, you’re not just giving your family another year of play-filled, unforgettable experiences. You are “sharing your light” by making it possible for every child and family in our community to experience the joys and rewards of early learning and achievement.

The “Worldwide Community Lights Celebration” will take place at Stepping Stones through December 31. There’s so much going on at the museum during these magical weeks of wonder that you won’t be able to experience it all in one visit. Check out our daily calendar and plan to create some lasting memories with your family. For more information about the “Worldwide Community Lights Celebration,” visit www.steppingstonesmuseum.org/lights.

About Stepping Stones Museum for Children
Stepping Stones Museum for Children (www.steppingstonesmuseum.org in Norwalk is an award-winning, private, non-profit 501(c)(3) children’s museum committed to broadening and enriching the lives of children and families. Located on five acres in Mathews Park, the LEED Gold certified museum encompasses five hands-on galleries, multimedia theater, Family and Teacher Resource Center, Healthyville® Cafe and retail store. Stepping Stones also offers onsite educational events and workshops, school and group programs and traveling resources for schools, libraries and youth-serving organizations.

Stepping Stones is located at 303 West Avenue, exit 14N or 15S off I-95 in Norwalk. Museum hours are Labor Day through Memorial Day, Tuesday—Sunday and holiday Mondays from 10 am-5pm; and Memorial Day through Labor Day, Monday-Sunday from 10 am-5 pm. Admission is $15 for adults and children and $10 for seniors. Children under 1 are free.