View Our Calendar
Join us for the 33rd Science Treasure Hunt in partnership with the Peoria Academy of Science! The Treasure Hunt is a combination family adventure and scavenger hunt focusing on science and technology facilities and resources in the Peoria area. To be eligible to participate, the hunter must be between 1st grade and 8th grade as of April 1, 2023. Multiple children may participate in the same family.
The Hunt runs annually with the opening day being April 8, and the closing day is September 4. Visit local science sites, participate in science experiments, and be entered to win fantastic prizes! Up to 100 winners will receive several prizes consisting of books, puzzles, and other neat science stuff. Three winners will be chosen for even bigger prizes!
How to Participate:
Visit ScienceTreasureHunt.org and create an account to view the various sites participating in this year’s Treasure Hunt.
Local Science Sites have created series of questions that can be answered as you visit them. Once you find out an answer, enter it on ScienceTreasureHunt.org using your computer or mobile device.
There are also several everyday science experiments listed on ScienceTreasureHunt.org, complete with materials and instructions. When you complete one, submit your results online.
Once you have visited eight or more Science Sites and completed five or more everyday science activities, you will be automatically entered into our prize drawing.
Following the end of the Treasure Hunt at 11:59 PM Central Time on Monday, September 4, up to 100 winners will be chosen at random from the eligible hunters.
Good luck!
It’s great to be eight! We’re celebrating 8 years of the PlayHouse.
In celebration of our birthday, admission is FREE ALL DAY! In addition, we’ll have story time in the Julep room, face painting, and a birthday hat maker space in our Open Art Studio.
Come party with the PlayHouse and Forest Park Nature Center at a Preschool Party!
Discover our world through maker and S.T.E.A.M. activities, walks in nature, and stories depending on the location. This program is for preschool-aged children and their parents. For some locations, dress for outdoor fun!
Come party with the PlayHouse and Forest Park Nature Center at a Preschool Party!
Discover our world through maker and S.T.E.A.M. activities, walks in nature, and stories depending on the location. This program is for preschool-aged children and their parents. For some locations, dress for outdoor fun!
Come party with the PlayHouse and Forest Park Nature Center at a Preschool Party!
Discover our world through maker and S.T.E.A.M. activities, walks in nature, and stories depending on the location. This program is for preschool-aged children and their parents. For some locations, dress for outdoor fun!
Come party with the PlayHouse and Forest Park Nature Center at a Preschool Party!
Discover our world through maker and S.T.E.A.M. activities, walks in nature, and stories depending on the location. This program is for preschool-aged children and their parents. For some locations, dress for outdoor fun!
HopScotch is the Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum’s annual adults-only fundraising event. Leave the children at home and enjoy whiskey-based cocktails and craft brews from local restaurants and breweries. Enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres, play games, bid against other attendees in our silent auction, and take a chance to win the grand prize raffle.
Check out the Hopscotch 2023 page for information on our auction items and more!
Do you need more information?
Check out our FAQ page or email Executive Director, Melissa Sierra.
All proceeds go towards building and maintaining our exhibit spaces to empower children to become the creators and explorers of the world.
Come party with the PlayHouse and Forest Park Nature Center at a Preschool Party!
Discover our world through maker and S.T.E.A.M. activities, walks in nature, and stories depending on the location. This program is for preschool-aged children and their parents. For some locations, dress for outdoor fun!
The PlayHouse offers STEAM Homeschool classes at the Bonnie Noble Center in which students explore topics and activities related to science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics.
Join us this fall on the third Thursday of each month at the Noble Center to explore Biomimicry!
What does it mean to be inspired by nature? How can humans look to nature as a teacher for engineering and design? In this class, students will take a deep dive into how “form follows function” in the natural world.
This program is for school-aged children between the ages of 4 and 12.
Advance registration is required.
Inspired by Nature: Biomimicry Homeschool Schedule
- September 21st – Nature’s Form & Function
- October 19th – Nature’s Processes
- November 16th – Nature’s Systems
- December 21st – Biomimicry Bonanza
Come party with the PlayHouse and Forest Park Nature Center at a Preschool Party!
Discover our world through maker and S.T.E.A.M. activities, walks in nature, and stories depending on the location. This program is for preschool-aged children and their parents. For some locations, dress for outdoor fun!
Come party with the PlayHouse and Forest Park Nature Center at a Preschool Party!
Discover our world through maker and S.T.E.A.M. activities, walks in nature, and stories depending on the location. This program is for preschool-aged children and their parents. For some locations, dress for outdoor fun!
The PlayHouse offers STEAM Homeschool classes at the Bonnie Noble Center in which students explore topics and activities related to science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics.
Join us this fall on the third Thursday of each month at the Noble Center to explore Biomimicry!
What patterns can you find in nature? How do nature’s patterns give rise to the diversity and beauty of the world around us? In this class, we will learn about how nature’s patterns can help us better understand ourselves and our world.
This program is for school-aged children between the ages of 4 and 12.
Advance registration is required.
Inspired by Nature: Biomimicry Homeschool Schedule
- September 21st – Nature’s Form & Function
- October 19th – Nature’s Processes
- November 16th – Nature’s Systems
- December 21st – Biomimicry Bonanza
Come party with the PlayHouse and Forest Park Nature Center at a Preschool Party!
Discover our world through maker and S.T.E.A.M. activities, walks in nature, and stories depending on the location. This program is for preschool-aged children and their parents. For some locations, dress for outdoor fun!
The PlayHouse offers STEAM Homeschool classes at the Bonnie Noble Center in which students explore topics and activities related to science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics.
Join us this fall on the third Thursday of each month at the Noble Center to explore Biomimicry!
What forms do systems take in nature? What can we learn from understanding these systems? In this class, we will consider the connections between humans and nature and how we can design these connections in mind.
This program is for school-aged children between the ages of 4 and 12.
Advance registration is required.
Inspired by Nature: Biomimicry Homeschool Schedule
- September 21st – Nature’s Form & Function
- October 19th – Nature’s Processes
- November 16th – Nature’s Systems
- December 21st – Biomimicry Bonanza
On Sunday, November 26, 2023, more than 2,100 Museum Stores representing all fifty states and the District of Columbia, 25 countries, and five continents will offer relaxing, inspired shopping at your favorite museums and cultural institutions. Museum Store Sunday offers a special shopping experience in one-of-a kind stores (in person or online, or both), showcasing broad assortments of highly curated, unique, mission-specific gifts. From books to jewelry to children’s products to home accessories and gourmet food, there is something for everyone. Shop knowing you are supporting the missions and programs of each participating museum and cultural institution.
We invite you, your family, and your community, to “Be A Patron” at the PlayHouse on this Museum Store Sunday! Holiday shoppers will not only find quality gifts filled with inspiration and educational value but through their purchases, will also directly support their favorite museums. Shoppers foster ongoing appreciation and knowledge of art, nature, culture, science, and history. When you, the patron, purchase a gift from the museum store, you help to sustain the museum’s service to the public.