Face it, when it comes to children, they all want to stay up to ring in the New Year.
But the reality is, as the night grows later and later, children can become grumpier and grumpier before falling asleep well ahead of midnight.
For parents with kids excited for 2018, there’s a New Year’s Eve celebration that is just for them.
“You know the kids can’t stay up, so here at the Children’s Museum we give them a balloon drop just for them,” Brownsville Children’s Museum manager and volunteer coordinator Bert Garcia said, as staff and volunteers at the museum in Dean Porter Park worked to ready space for today’s celebration.
At 4 p.m. sharp, hundreds of balloons will be dropped from the cupola in the lobby at the Brownsville Children’s Museum.
“Last year, we had like 200 people in our lobby, or 300 people in our lobby,” Garcia said. “Last year was an exceptionally good turnout, and we’re hoping for another really, really good turnout.”
To enjoy the balloon drop, parents will have to pay the regular $8 admission, but those who choose to spend a few hours before the balloon drop at the museum will be able to let their kids participate in various activity centers.
“We have our Tinker Space Art Exploration activity,” Garcia said. “They’ll be doing these cool firework stamp paintings.”
That starts at 2:30 p.m., and Garcia advises people to show up early for the tinker space. He said there will be other activities throughout the day as well.
And for families looking for a memento from the New Year, a New Year’s Eve-themed backdrop with stage lights on either side of it provides a way for people to take cool pictures to remember the night.
“The event is really popular because a lot of kids want to stay up and see the ball drop so a lot of the parents bring them here to do this,” Garcia said.