Each week Thanksgiving Point hosts educational and fun activities for families of all ages and abilities! Our Family Programs include Tales for Tots, Melody Makers, and Dirt on Dinos, just to name a few.
The programs are always adapting and changing throughout the year so check back often for updates. They are also led by our trained educational team to ensure each person at the activity has a great time learning and playing together as family and friends. Click each day below to learn more about these one-of-a-kind educational opportunities at Thanksgiving Point and to see dates, locations, and times for each one. See you soon!
Tales for Tots
11-11:20 am
Mountain America Museum of Ancient Life
Join us for our weekly storytelling adventure, Tales for Tots. Staff will engage guests with interactive storytelling as well as movement and/or music activities that connect to the story theme of the day.
Included with regular venue admission
September 4 | Tea Rex by Molly Idle
Some tea parties are for grown-ups, some are for little girls, but only the most special are for dinosaurs. What kind of manners would a T-Rex have? And will you have a big enough seat?
September 11 | Cookiesaurus Rex by Nate Evans and Amy Fellner Dominy
When Cookiesaurus Rex comes out of the oven he decides that he is the best of all the cookies, and he should be frosted first. But after he is frosted, he notices the other cookies getting things like sprinkles and gumdrops. He didn’t get any of those, and he wants a do-over!
September 18 | Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin
Monsters LOVE colors! They love to mix, scribble, draw, and paint. Along with this comes dancing, and wiggling, and making whole new colors of their own.
September 25 | Whatever Happened to the Dinosaurs? by Bernard Most
Explore some possible (and maybe not so possible) things that made the dinosaurs disappear!
Butterfly’s First Flight
11 am and 5 pm
$4 per person, $3 for Thanksgiving Point members
Help one of our newly-emerged butterflies spread their wings with this immersive experience! Join our entomologists in releasing young butterflies into the conservatory and help a butterfly celebrate its first flight! Guests must purchase Butterfly Releases in-person at the Butterfly Biosphere Front Desk.
Reptile Report
11:45 am and 2:30 pm
Meet and learn about some amazing reptilian creatures at the Reptile Report! Whether you know it all about the reptiles or you’re just learning about them for the first time, this program has something for everyone.
Included with regular venue admission
Critter Encounter
10 am, 1 pm, 3:30 pm, and 6 pm
Go beyond the glass with this hands-on opportunity! Check out the Critter Corner during your trip around the museum for a chance to hold a friendly bug. These regularly timed shows allow you to learn about bugs and the important role they play in the environment!
Included with regular venue admission.
Itsy Bitsy Science
3 pm
Come explore with us at Itsy Bitsy Science! Together we will investigate the workings of the natural world with young guests and their families. This program is all about encouraging littles to engage in beginning science practices through facilitated play.
Included with regular venue admission.
Good Night Museum
7 pm
You and your family will wind down as Thanksgiving Point educators read bedtime stories and invite you to participate in quiet, calming activities. It’s the perfect end to an adventurous day.
Melody Makers
11-11:20 am – Museum of Natural Curiosity
Join us for our popular Melody Makers program. Led by our Learning and Engagement staff, Melody Makers is the perfect opportunity for little kids and their adults to dance and move in a fun and friendly environment. Come see what each unique staff member has to offer with a variety of engaging songs and themes each week.
Included with regular venue admission.
FEATURED SONG FOR August:
“Down by the Bay”
Did you ever see a llama wearing pajamas? Join us down by the bay to sing this popular song that is full of silly rhymes.
FEATURED SONG FOR September:
“Autumn Leaves are Falling Down”
Join us for this exploration of the beginnings of Autumn and the fun of falling leaves, to the tune of the popular song “London Bridge.”
Butterfly’s First flight
11 am and 5 pm
$4 per person, $3 for Thanksgiving Point members
Help one of our newly-emerged butterflies spread their wings with this immersive experience! Join our entomologists in releasing young butterflies into the conservatory and help a butterfly celebrate its first flight! Guests must purchase Butterfly Releases in-person at the Butterfly Biosphere Front Desk.
Critter Encounter
10 am, 1 pm, 3:30 pm, and 6 pm
Go beyond the glass with this hands-on opportunity! Check out the Critter Corner during your trip around the museum for a chance to hold a friendly bug. These regularly timed shows allow you to learn about bugs and the important role they play in the environment!
Included with regular venue admission.
Good Night Museum
7 pm
Mountain America Museum of Ancient Life
You and your family will wind down as Thanksgiving Point educators read bedtime stories and invite you to participate in quiet, calming activities. It’s the perfect end to an adventurous day.
Dirt on Dinos
10 am – Noon
Mountain America Museum of Ancient Life
Join us for The Dirt on Dinos program at the Museum of Ancient Life every Wednesday. Our program will have interesting specimens, fossils and cast material, on display for up-close observation. Friendly staff will help answer questions and guide guests in educational conversation and activity. Bring your best questions and imagination! Come learn about the science happening every day here at Thanksgiving Point!
Included with regular venue admission
Cultivating Kids
10 am – 10:30 am
Join us in the Learning Gardens for a look at gardening basics! From water and soil to plant parts and pollinators, this program gets the whole family out into the garden exploring and discovering.
Included with regular venue admission. May be cancelled due to inclement weather.
TALES FOR TOTS
11-11:20 am
Join us for our weekly storytelling adventure, Tales for Tots. Staff will engage guests with interactive storytelling as well as movement and/or music activities that connect to the story theme of the day.
Included with regular venue admission
August 30 | Be You! by Peter H Reynolds
Be curious. Be adventurous. Be kind. Be you! This book teaches that everyone is unique, and we all deserve joy.
September 6 | The Bad Seed by Jory John
This book is about a bad seed. A really bad seed. He has a bad temper, bad manners, and a bad attitude. Will he be able to learn the power of being yourself?
September 13 | The Very Clumsy Click Beetle by Eric Carle
When a little click beetle falls on his back, he discovers that he cannot get back up. Learning from a wise, old click beetle, he discovers that he can persevere and find his way back up again.
September 20 | Fantastic Flowers by Susan Stockdale
Through beautiful paintings, you will be introduced to all sorts of flowers that resemble other things in the world! Look at a flower shaped like a baby, a wild monkey, or a pair of pants!
September 27 | Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak
As trees sway in the cool breeze, blue jays head south, and leaves change their colors, everyone knows–autumn is on its way! Join a young girl as she takes a walk-through forest and town, greeting all the signs of the coming season.
BUTTERFLY’s First flight
11 am and 5 pm
$4 per person, $3 for Thanksgiving Point members
Help one of our newly-emerged butterflies spread their wings with this immersive experience! Join our entomologists in releasing young butterflies into the conservatory and help a butterfly celebrate its first flight! Guests must purchase Butterfly Releases in-person at the Butterfly Biosphere Front Desk.
CRITTER ENCOUNTER
10 am, 1 pm, 3:30 pm, and 6 pm
Go beyond the glass with this hands-on opportunity! Check out the Critter Corner during your trip around the museum for a chance to hold a friendly bug. These regularly timed shows allow you to learn about bugs and the important role they play in the environment!
Included with regular venue admission.
bubbles and bites
1 pm
Mountain America Museum of Ancient Life
Fish Food for Thought: The Alligator Gar is sometimes referred to as a “living fossil” because scientists can trace them in the fossil record back 100 million years! Join our Museum of Ancient Life staff on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 1pm to watch these agile predators hunt for their lunch!
Included with regular venue admission
ITSY BITSY SCIENCE
3 pm
Come explore with us at Itsy Bitsy Science! Together we will investigate the workings of the natural world with young guests and their families. This program is all about encouraging littles to engage in beginning science practices through facilitated play.
Included with regular venue admission.
Good Night Museum
7 pm
You and your family will wind down as Thanksgiving Point educators read bedtime stories and invite you to participate in quiet, calming activities. It’s the perfect end to an adventurous day.
Melody Makers
11-11:20 am
Join us for our popular Melody Makers program. Led by our Learning and Engagement staff, Melody Makers is the perfect opportunity for little kids and their adults to dance and move in a fun and friendly environment. Come see what each unique staff member has to offer with a variety of engaging songs and themes each week.
Included with regular venue admission.
FEATURED SONG FOR August:
“Down by the Bay”
Did you ever see a llama wearing pajamas? Join us down by the bay to sing this popular song that is full of silly rhymes.
FEATURED SONG FOR September:
“Autumn Leaves are Falling Down”
Join us for this exploration of the beginnings of Autumn and the fun of falling leaves, to the tune of the popular song “London Bridge.”
BUTTERFLY’s First flight
11 am and 5 pm
$4 per person, $3 for Thanksgiving Point members
Help one of our newly-emerged butterflies spread their wings with this immersive experience! Join our entomologists in releasing young butterflies into the conservatory and help a butterfly celebrate its first flight! Guests must purchase Butterfly Releases in-person at the Butterfly Biosphere Front Desk.
CRITTER ENCOUNTER
10 am, 1 pm, 3:30 pm, and 6 pm
Go beyond the glass with this hands-on opportunity! Check out the Critter Corner during your trip around the museum for a chance to hold a friendly bug. These regularly timed shows allow you to learn about bugs and the important role they play in the environment!
Included with regular venue admission.
Good Night Museum
7 pm
Mountain America Museum of Ancient Life
You and your family will wind down as Thanksgiving Point educators read bedtime stories and invite you to participate in quiet, calming activities. It’s the perfect end to an adventurous day.
TALES FOR TOTS
11-11:20 am
Join us for our weekly storytelling adventure, Tales for Tots. Staff will engage guests with interactive storytelling as well as movement and/or music activities that connect to the story theme of the day.
Included with regular venue admission
September 1 | Chicken Big by Keith Graves
On a little farm, in a tiny coop, a small hen laid a humongous, GIANT egg. And out of this egg hatched a large…. something. The chickens just can’t make sense of this very big new addition to their family.
September 8 | Barn Dance by Bill Martin Jr & John Archambault
As the Greenstalk family begins to have trouble on the farm, they need someone to step in and help! Who would be best for the job? The chickens, of course!
September 15 | Who Took the Farmer’s Hat? by Joan L. Nodset
The Farmer loved his old brown hat, but one day the wind blew it right off his head! He chased it but the faster he went, the faster the wind blew. Now he must search and search, will he ever find his favorite hat?
September 22 | Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle
Beep! Beep! Beep! A muddy country road is no match for this little pick up–that is, until he gets stuck while pushing a dump truck out of the muck. Luckily, Blue has made a pack of farm animal friends along his route.
September 29 | The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri
The leaves have started to fall. The air is cold. Squirrel needs to get ready for winter. He cannot nibble with the mice. He does not have time to hop with the frogs or run with the dogs. But there is one thing he can do!
BUTTERFLY’s First Flight
11 am and 5 pm
$4 per person, $3 for Thanksgiving Point members
Help one of our newly-emerged butterflies spread their wings with this immersive experience! Join our entomologists in releasing young butterflies into the conservatory and help a butterfly celebrate its first flight! Guests must purchase Butterfly Releases in-person at the Butterfly Biosphere Front Desk.
CRITTER ENCOUNTER
10 am, 1 pm, 3:30 pm, and 6 pm
Go beyond the glass with this hands-on opportunity! Check out the Critter Corner during your trip around the museum for a chance to hold a friendly bug. These regularly timed shows allow you to learn about bugs and the important role they play in the environment!
Included with regular venue admission.
Reptile Report
2:30 pm and 6:15 pm
Meet and learn about some amazing reptilian creatures at the Reptile Report! Whether you know it all about the reptiles or you’re just learning about them for the first time, this program has something for everyone.
Included with regular venue admission
Good Night Museum
7 pm
You and your family will wind down as Thanksgiving Point educators read bedtime stories and invite you to participate in quiet, calming activities. It’s the perfect end to an adventurous day.
TALES FOR TOTS
11-11:20 am – Museum of Natural Curiosity
Join us for our weekly storytelling adventure, Tales for Tots. Staff will engage guests with interactive storytelling as well as movement and/or music activities that connect to the story theme of the day.
Included with regular venue admission
September 2 | Let’s Make Faces by Hanoch Piven
There are so many faces to discover in our world! All you have to do is look.
September 9 | My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay by Cari Best
Zulay and her three best friends are all in the same first grade class, and they do everything together. On field day, Zulay decides she wants to run a race, but due to her being blind, she needs the help of her friends and a special aide.
September 16 | Freight Train by Donald Crews
In simple, powerful words and vibrant illustrations, this wonderful story evokes the rolling wheels of that childhood favorite: a train.
September 23 | Rude Cakes by Josh Funk
Cakes are supposed to be sweet, but one cake is not-so-sweet, in fact he is very rude. He never says please or thank you and never listens to his parents.
September 30 | Red are the Apples by Marc Harshman
What can you find in an autumn garden? A harvest of bright colors, and lots to explore! Join us as we pick out all the luscious fruits and vegetables in this colorful fall garden.
BUTTERFLY’s first flight
11 am and 5 pm
$4 per person, $3 for Thanksgiving Point members
Help one of our newly-emerged butterflies spread their wings with this immersive experience! Join our entomologists in releasing young butterflies into the conservatory and help a butterfly celebrate its first flight! Guests must purchase Butterfly Releases in-person at the Butterfly Biosphere Front Desk.
CRITTER ENCOUNTER
10 am, 1 pm, 3:30 pm, and 6 pm
Go beyond the glass with this hands-on opportunity! Check out the Critter Corner during your trip around the museum for a chance to hold a friendly bug. These regularly timed shows allow you to learn about bugs and the important role they play in the environment!
Included with regular venue admission.
bubbles and bites
1 pm
Mountain America Museum of Ancient Life
Fish Food for Thought: The Alligator Gar is sometimes referred to as a “living fossil” because scientists can trace them in the fossil record back 100 million years! Join our Museum of Ancient Life staff on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 1pm to watch these agile predators hunt for their lunch!
Included with regular venue admission
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