A New Year’s Eve party fit for you and your children at a Fort Worth museum

Confetti, a countdown and lessons on how other cultures celebrate the coming of a new year are just a few of the things to expect at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History’s Dec. 31 kid-friendly event.

Activities get underway as soon as the doors to the museum open at 10 a.m. and will last until noon.

“It’s a really fun event. It’s a really fast event,” said museum marketing coordinator Abigail Hofbauer. “So, we usually have activities starting right at 10 when the doors open to the museum, and people get to kind of wander around looking at the museum but also do fun activities.”

Tickets cost $16 for adults (12-64 years old), $14 for seniors (65+), $12 for youth (3-11 years old) and children under two are free.

The “Noon Year’s Eve” event was first held at the end of 2019 to give kids and their family a place to celebrate, including “the traditional confetti drop and everyone gets to do the big countdown,” Hofbauer said.

A countdown is projected on the museum’s mammoth display in the atrium as staff drop confetti from the balcony.

Timing of the event was also a factor, she said, noting that the event happens during museum hours, making it more accessible to families.

“This is just a way for families to get away during the day on New Year’s Eve,” she said. “(They) are excited because they get to celebrate with their kids … (before going) out and hanging out with their friends (later) that evening.”

As the pandemic ravaged the nation, the event was held virtually at the end of 2020. The following year, guests were invited back to the kid-friendly event and more than 1,000 in attended. The museum expects even more to turn out later this month, Hofbauer said.

In past events the museum used food from around the world to show how other cultures celebrated the coming of a new year.

“We had different foods that you could try ... foods that people eat to celebrate the new year,” Hofbauer said. “Different cultures eat specific things, whether that’s cookies or olives for good luck.”

The practice has evolved a bit. With allergy and other concerns, the museum is taking a more crafty tack to the activities. There is still a reference to food, such as the Austrian tradition of having miniature pigs made of marzipan or chocolate on the table with the suckling pig. At the event, kids and their families will help make peppermint pigs.

The children will also learn the science behind fireworks — a mainstay in how many cultures ring in the new year. There will be time to make their own noisemakers and party poppers, Hofbauer said.

Activities at the ‘Noon Year’s Eve’ event:

• Build a Chinese paper lantern to celebrate the Lunar New Year

• Make your own confetti popper

• Decorate a Noon Year’s Eve hat to wear as you celebrate

• “Ring” in the New Year with your very own noise maker

• Make a Peppermint Pig — On New Year’s Day, Austrians usually eat suckling pig for good luck. Often the table is decorated with little miniature pigs made of marzipan or chocolate and peppermint ice cream is served for dessert.

• Noon Year’s resolution ribbon — Write your New Year’s resolution on ribbon and add it to our confetti pile

• Noon Year’s Eve cootie catcher — Don’t catch any cooties from your midnight kiss

• Explore New Year’s Eve-inspired items from our history collection

• Learn about the animals of the New Year with our science collection