The DuPage Childrens Museum is at 301 N. Washington St., Naperville. Parking is free. Wheelchair accessible. For hours, admission and membership packages, visit dupagechildrensmuseum.org or call 630-637-8000.
Tiny Great Performances, Family Fun Friday Nights and other events listed are free for museum members or with museum admission, and no registration is required. Creativity classes require pre-registration and separate fees.
Jan. 3
10 to 11 a.m.: Story time in the Family Resource Center. Enjoy an interactive story hour with DCM’s Ben Webber. Ben uses his performing arts talents to engage children in stories that are fun and entertaining.
6 to 8 p.m.: Family Fun Friday Night. There’s always something fun for the entire Family on Family Fun Friday Nights.
Jan. 6-12
10 a.m. to noon, 1 to 3 p.m. Donald Crews’ Freight Train, studio drop-in. Print bold-colored train cars with paint; then use a damp sponge to make your work of art appear to be in motion down the tracks.
Jan. 6-Feb. 24
1 to 2 p.m.: School of Rock Little Wing Classes: Baby Birds (2 to 3 years old). Teach your child to love music through an interactive music class made for children and their parents or caretakers. Together we will learn the fundamentals of music through rhythmic recognition and tonal processing through loved rock music! Fee: members $175; nonmember $200 (child/adult partner). Register by visiting dupagechildrensmuseum.org/littlewing, or call 630-922-5400.
Jan. 7-Feb. 25
4:30 to 5:30 p.m. or 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.: School of Rock Little Wing Classes: Night Owls (3 to 5 years old). Watch your child grow to love music as they jam with their peers! Little Wing Night Owls will learn how to interact in a band as they explore the traditional rock instruments in a hands-on environment; guitar, bass, drums, keys and vocals. Fee: members $175; nonmember $200 (child). Register by visiting dupagechildrensmuseum.org/littlewing, or call 630-922-5400.
Jan. 10
10 to 11 a.m.: Story time in the Family Resource Center. Enjoy an interactive story hour with DCM’s Ben Webber. Ben uses his performing arts talents to engage children in stories that are fun and entertaining.
6 to 8 p.m.: Optical Illusion Photos. Set up and take funny photos by playing with distance and size to create optical illusions. Artist and photographer Charlie McDermott will help young visitors discover forced perspective and how to use it in art.
Jan. 11
9:30 a.m.: Perceptual Motion Dance Company. An interactive dance workshop and performance specially choreographed to highlight our newest exhibit, Monumental. Get ready to move while inspired by Greek and Maya music and cultures.
Jan. 13-19
10 a.m. to noon, 1 to 3 p.m.: Ezra Jack Keats’ A Snowy Day. Collaged papers bring lively colors and patterns to Keats’ illustrations and your artwork. Use wallpapers and markers to create a collage that relates how you spend a snowy day.
Jan. 14
9:30 to 10:15 a.m.: Discovering Forces Motion (Ages 2-4). Ramps, rollers, tracks, and trains. Explore things that go and how they move. Pre-registration and pre-payment are required. Member/child partner $17; nonmember/child partner $23.
Jan. 15
10 a.m. to noon: Insect Zoo. Have you ever wanted to get nose-to-nose with a praying mantis? Pet a giant pumpkin millipede as long as your hand? See how far a giant lubber grasshopper can jump? Find out how, as nature’s recyclers, these insects contribute to our environment.
10:30 to 11 a.m.: Story time with Naperville Public Library.
Jan. 16
10:30 to 11 a.m.: Make Way for Music. DCM volunteer Nancy Culp brings her guitar and love for music to DCM’s Family Resource Center. Join us for an enjoyable and “just right for children” introduction to music and musical concepts.
5 to 7 p.m.: Third Thursday is a time designated for families of children with special needs. The museum is open until 8 p.m.
Jan. 17
10 to 11 a.m.: Storytime in the Family Resource Center. Enjoy an interactive story hour with DCM’s Ben Webber.
6 to 8 p.m.: Family Fun Friday Night. Explore shape and sculpture with plaster and gauze. Make a molded cast of an object, a hand, or even your face. Join costume designer Mark Mysliwiec to mix plaster, gauze and creativity into a permanent piece of art.
Jan. 20-26
10 a.m. to noon, 1 to 3 p.m.: Lois Ehlert’s Color Zoo. Create your own Color Zoo using bright geometric paper shapes and crayons. Check the website to view a weekly schedule of alternating math-, science-, and art-focused activities in the museum’s Creativity Studio.
Jan. 22
4 to 5 p.m.: Engineering Explorations (ages 4-6). Engineering is a process that incorporates design and problem-solving too. Have fun exploring engineering concepts in an interactive and hands-on way. Pre-registration and pre-payment are required. Member/child partner $17; nonmember/child partner $23.
Jan. 23
9:30 to 10 a.m.: Make it Move Young Explorers (ages 15-24 months). Join us for an interactive class of fun and exploration where caregiver and tot will engage in learning and play that introduces how things move in our world. Class meets in the Young Explorers area directly behind the Construction House. Member/child partner $14; nonmember/child partner $20.
Jan. 24
10 to 11 a.m.: Storytime in the Family Resource Center.
6 to 8 p.m.: Family Fun Friday Night: Build, craft, tinker, sew, or attend a show. There’s always something fun for the entire Family on Family Fun Friday Nights.
Jan. 27-Feb. 2
10 a.m. to Noon, 1 to 3 p.m.: Barbara Cooney’s Miss Rumphius. Make delicate prints of vegetables and flower designs and mix with crayons and colored pencils to create multicolored botanical illustrations.
Jan. 28
9:30 to 10:15 a.m.: Pattern Power (ages 2-4). They make up so many of the items we see every day. Young mathematicians will enjoy activities that draw our attention to patterns in our world. Pre-registration and pre-payment are required. Member/child partner $17; nonmember/child partner $23.
Jan. 31
10 to 11 a.m.: Storytime in the Family Resource Center.
6 to 8 p.m.: Family Fun Friday Night. We’re not throwing a party, we’re fusing glass. Irene Boutzarelos will lead children of all ages through an exciting (and safe!) exploration of glass fusing. Kids will use different types of glass, such as confetti or noodles, to design a colorful tile to be fired in a kiln. Works may be picked up the following week.
Courtesy of Naper Settlement