Some celebrate a birthday all weekend. Others trot out the party for an entire week.
And Pueblo’s Buell Children’s Museum is marking its 10th anniversary this year with a summer-long affair.
In addition to today’s installment of “The Creativity Box!” from noon to 2 p.m., in which young visitors help artists and entertainers “think outside the box,” the museum has special events throughout the summer to mark its first decade, with extra-special fun happening on the 10th of each month through August.
Curator Donna Stinchcomb says the museum’s programs are especially needed now.
“The arts have been cut from our schools more and more,” she says. “For some students, their field trip to the museum is the only arts experience they have.”
She added that the Buell, located inside the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center, is unique among children’s museums because of its emphasis on art.
“As quality family time diminishes, we serve up more and more — a big helping of enjoying time together and having a ‘magic moment’ kind of day,” Stinchcomb says. “We have as many adults (as kids) flop down on the floor and do a puzzle.”
The museum threw its official birthday party June 10, exactly 10 years after the doors first opened. The theme for July 10 is “A Fairy House Garden Tour,” at which kids can explore the “fairy houses” constructed by fellow youngsters. The homes will be displayed on the lawn of the museum. The event also will feature snacks, face-painting, music and a movie.
Bridges are the theme for Aug. 10. The event will feature the Peace Bridge Project: Budding bridge-builders need to pick up an entry kit at the museum by Aug. 3 and bring in their creation Aug. 10 to form one big bridge.
But even without special events, this museum offers plenty to do. In addition to its regular activities — Plasma- Cars, PlayMotion games and more — all sorts of artists contribute to the weekly “Creativity Box!”
For Stinchcomb, who has been with the museum from the beginning, the past decade deserves this kind of large-scale celebration.
“Every day in the arts is different,” she says. “There isn’t anything you can’t learn through the arts.”
The Buell Children’s Museum is at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center, 210 N. Santa Fe Ave., Pueblo. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is $4 for adults, and $3 for children and military. For more information, go to or call 719-295-7200.
