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Join us to BE ANYTHING! at the Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum! In June we are exploring careers related to nature, animals, and the Illinois River. Meet a wildlife biologist, animal handlers, environmental scientists, a green energy designer, the Captain of the Spirit of Peoria boat, and a horticulturalist! Each station features activities appropriate for children ages 4-12, engaging children in work related to the featured careers.
Visit with:
Wildlife Biologist, Peoria Park District Environmental Team
- Ship’s Captain, Spirit of Peoria
- Therapy Dog Handler, Peoria Humane Society
- Water Quality Project Manager, The Nature Conservancy
- Soil Scientist, Bradley University
- Solar PV System Designer, Ruyle Mechanical Services, Inc.
- Horticulturist, Hoerr Nursery
Visit all the stations and be entered into a raffle to win a “Natural World” basket, featuring a family pass for a cruise on the Spirit of Peoria, a Family membership to Forest Park Nature Center, a solor-powered race car kit, and more!
This event is free with membership or admission to the Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum. No advance registration required.
Join us to BE ANYTHING! at the Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum! In July we are exploring careers that involve using your hands (and sometimes your whole body!) as well as your brain to make new things and fix or reuse what you have.
Visit with:
Bike Mechanic, Bushwhacker
- Architect, Dewberry
- Muralist
- Ballet Dancer, Peoria Ballet
- Electrician, IBEW
- Ironworker, River City Construction
- Toy Designer, The Bandit Ball Project
- Landscape Architect, Designer Concepts
- Project Manager, Caterpillar, Inc.
- Analytics Engineer, Caterpillar, Inc.
- Musician, Peoria Symphony Orchestra
Visit all of the stations and be entered to win a raffle basket with items that allow you to extend the experience, including costumes, Nutcracker tickets, art supplies, and a bike helmet.
This is the second of four career days. Learn more about the Be Anything! series here.
Everyone loves a good story and there are so many ways to tell them across cultures. Enjoy stories in the many ways we share them across cultures including Native American coyote stories with Jo Lakota, West African tales with Garry Moore, Jewish storytelling with Fran Moss, and more.
Celebrate Peoria is an event series that celebrates the cultural and religious diversity of Peoria and Central Illinois. Activities are free with museum admission or membership
Event schedule:
Sand Porch
12:00- 3 PM
Add a story to our wall
JULEP Room
12:30 PM – 12:45 PM
“Cao Chong Weighs an Elephant” with Children of Peoria Chinese Association
1:15 PM – 1:45 PM
Jewish Storytelling and Music with Storyteller Fran Moss
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM
West African Tales and Drumming with Storyteller Garry Moore
2:35 PM – 3:00 PM
Native American Coyote Stories with Storyteller Jo Lakota
Art Room
12:50 PM – 1:10 PM
Islamic Story-time in a Bedouin Tent with Mrs. Aisha
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Make your own puppets

Join us to BE ANYTHING! at the Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum! In August we are exploring careers that save lives. Meet representatives and explore vehicles from the police and fire departments, explore an ambulance, learn about the work of doctors and nurses, and more!
Visit all of the stations and be entered to win a raffle basket with items that allow you to extend the experience.
This is the third of four career days. Learn more about the Be Anything! series here.
What we wear and why can say so much about who we are. Explore cultural and religious fashions worn by the people in the greater Peoria area. Try on clothes like a sari or hijab, enjoy a multicultural fashion show, and more!
Activities are free with museum admission or membership.
Schedule:
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Henna tattoos/mehndi in Hay Loft, 3rd floor
12:00 PM – 3:00 pm
Trash to Treasure accessory making in Real Tools, 2nd floor
Design a fashion doll in Art Room, 1st floor
Clothing displays: yarmulkes, saris, and Mexican clothing in Art Room, 1st floor
Islamic and Hindu clothing try-on next to Theater, 1st floor
Chinese traditional theater costume photo booth in front of Butterfly Wall, 1st floor
1:30 PM
Multicultural fashion show in JULEP Room, 1st floor
2:30 PM
Hats of Faith and What We Wear story time in JULEP Room, 1st Floor
3:00 PM
Islamic Clothing Talk and Q&A in JULEP Room, 1st Floor
Celebrate Peoria is an event series that explores and celebrates the cultural and religious diversity of Peoria and Central Illinois. All activities are planned in collaboration with community partners.
Join us to BE ANYTHING! at the Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum! In September we are inspired by the PlayHouse exhibit Peoria Then and Now to look at community jobs:
Visit with:
- Meteorologist, WEEK (and explore the Weather Tracker vehicle!)
- Salon Owner, Whispering Willows Salon
- Finance Professional, CEFCU
- Recruiter, Girl Scouts of Central Illinois
- Librarian, Peoria Public Library (and come aboard the Bookmobile!)
- Grocer, Sous Chef
- Maintenance Worker, Peoria Public Works Department (and learn how a Street Sweeper vehicle works!)
- Dentist, Just Kidz Dentistry
- Mechanic, Bob Lindsay Honda (and explore the inside of a car!)
- Behavioral Therapost, GBC aba
- Anchor, WMBD
Visit all of the stations and be entered to win a raffle basket with items that allow you to extend the experience. And online bidding is now open – bid on one-on-one career experiences for your child, and join us at Trailside Event Center on October 3rd for an adults-only cocktail event featuring a live auction of career experiences for children and adults! Learn more about the Be Anything! series here.

Join us at Trailside Event Center on Thursday, October 3rd from 6-9pm for a playful cocktail party featuring a live auction with Be Anything! experiences for adults, raffle, and PlayHouse-style activities. The event is emceed by WMBD’s Greg Batton, and tickets include two complimentary drinks as well as heavy hors d’oeuvres from Cracked Pepper.
Learn more about this event and our online career auction.
Join us on Black Friday to try it before you buy it!
Make a project with the art supplies that we sell in the gift shop.
All Faber-Castell art items in our gift shop will be on sale November 29, 2019 only.
Open Art Studio is free with museum admission or membership

Real Tools @ Lakeview Park offers socially distanced workstations stocked with carpentry and craft tools, and a large range of materials to work with. Visitors can choose between making a specific project highlighted that day, or working on anything they chose to make with the tools and materials available.
Highlighted project for the week of October 5th: Make Something that Moves. Use wind, gravity, tension, or anything else you can think of to make a vehicle that moves!

Be Anything! is an innovative program that propels “Take Your Child to Work Day” to a new level. All children can be anything; they need only the tools and opportunity to imagine, practice, and become!
This online auction features experiences with 50+ local professionals, ranging from police officers to ballet dancers to Illinois State Representatives. Help a child in your life explore the careers that excite them through Be Anything! experiences.

Real Tools @ Lakeview Park offers socially distanced workstations stocked with carpentry and craft tools, and a large range of materials to work with. Visitors can choose between making a specific project highlighted that day, or working on anything they chose to make with the tools and materials available.
Highlighted project for the week of October 12th: Make A Costume. Use paper, fabric, and other materials to make a Halloween costume, or just a fun outfit to play in!

Real Tools @ Lakeview Park offers socially distanced workstations stocked with carpentry and craft tools, and a large range of materials to work with. Visitors can choose between making a specific project highlighted that day, or working on anything they chose to make with the tools and materials available.
Highlighted project for the week of October 19th: Build a Boat. What sinks? What floats? Experiment with materials and then build a boat that can hold as much weight as possible!

Real Tools @ Lakeview Park offers socially distanced workstations stocked with carpentry and craft tools, and a large range of materials to work with. Visitors can choose between making a specific project highlighted that day, or working on anything they chose to make with the tools and materials available.
Highlighted project for the week of October 26th: Build a Pumpkin Chucker for a Pompom. Use the power of simple machines to make a small object fly!

Real Tools @ Lakeview Park offers socially distanced workstations stocked with carpentry and craft tools, and a large range of materials to work with. Visitors can choose between making a specific project highlighted that day, or working on anything they chose to make with the tools and materials available.
Highlighted project for November 6-7: Create a Monster.

Real Tools @ Lakeview Park offers socially distanced workstations stocked with carpentry and craft tools, and a large range of materials to work with. Visitors can choose between making a specific project highlighted that day, or working on anything they chose to make with the tools and materials available.
Highlighted project for November 13-14: Design a spaceship to take you to Mars!