Holley Dennis waited at the edge of a swimming pool-size sheet of plump bubble wrap, counting down the seconds.
When the silver, mirrored ball dropped outside the Children’s Museum of Denver, the 3-year-old in a spark ling pink dress was one of dozens of kids dashing onto the plastic. The bubbles popped like firecrackers under her white patent-leather shoes.
The pig-tailed girl and her 3-year-old playmate, Ellie DeBeer, were among about 4,000 children who celebrated New Year’s Eve at the museum.
The highlight of the party was a pint-size Times Square where a ball dropped at 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m. Kids counted down from 20, then with their parents’ cameras poised, tore off to stomp the bubble wrap. Decked out in shiny paper hats and glittering beads, they blew noisemakers and drowned out “Auld Lang Syne” piping from outdoor speakers.
“It’s just mayhem,” said museum marketing director Lynn Haner as kids swarmed around the front door, lined up for mini-train rides and squeezed into spots at outdoor craft tables. “They love it.”
Families took advantage of the sunshine and unusually warm weather by picnicking in the playground.
Inside, they toured the museum’s standing playscapes – a grocery store with tiny carts and plastic food, a cave with a box of fuzzy animal costumes and a dance floor with musical instruments and tutus. Museum staff served traditional New Year’s good-luck food – black-eyed peas and collard greens – in the afternoon.
Dozens of volunteers handed out party hats and beads, set up craft tables and laid out fresh sheets of bubble wrap for each ball drop.
Nate Poulter, 7, created an orange “time capsule” decorated with glitter, pipe cleaners and cotton balls. Children wrote down what they liked about 2005 on bits of paper and were supposed to open the capsules next New Year’s Eve.
Nate, who was planning for “lots of lacrosse and lots of sports” in 2006, was one of the few children who understood it was the last day of the year. Many just got the party.
Andy and Keli Krantz expected their toddler, Emma, would catch on by the end of the afternoon.
“We’ve been talking about it for about 24 hours,” Andy Krantz said. “After this, then she’ll understand the concept.”
The Children’s Museum has thrown a New Year’s Eve party for several years. The point, said executive director Tom Downey, is to let kids party in the daylight so parents can hit the town at night.
“That’s the whole thing,” he said. “Parents want a safe, educational environment to celebrate and that’s what’s happening here.”
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at 303-820-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com.
