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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.
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!
Inspired by nature and powered by STEAM, we will review the central concepts of Biomimicry and use our time in the maker space to create, imagine, and explore the many possibilities that arise when nature is our teacher.
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
Join us on the third Thursday of each month at the Noble Center to explore the science of Meteorology!
How can science help us to understand the weather? What can we learn from studying the processes that occur in the Earth’s atmosphere? In this class, we will discover some of the amazing things that happen “behind the scenes” to create the weather we experience in our daily lives and use our imaginations to create projects inspired by each month’s topic.
January 18th: Water and Ice
February 15th: Atmosphere
March 21st: Weather Forecasting
April 18th: Lightning and Storms
Join us on the third Thursday of each month at the Noble Center to explore the science of Meteorology!
How can science help us to understand the weather? What can we learn from studying the processes that occur in the Earth’s atmosphere? In this class, we will discover some of the amazing things that happen “behind the scenes” to create the weather we experience in our daily lives and use our imaginations to create projects inspired by each month’s topic.
January 18th: Water and Ice
February 15th: Atmosphere
March 21st: Weather Forecasting
April 18th: Lightning and Storms
Join us on the third Thursday of each month at the Noble Center to explore the science of Meteorology!
How can science help us to understand the weather? What can we learn from studying the processes that occur in the Earth’s atmosphere? In this class, we will discover some of the amazing things that happen “behind the scenes” to create the weather we experience in our daily lives and use our imaginations to create projects inspired by each month’s topic.
January 18th: Water and Ice
February 15th: Atmosphere
March 21st: Weather Forecasting
April 18th: Lightning and Storms
Join Peoria Playhouse on April 6 from 9:00 to 4:00 for a free day sponsored by Bright Start, an Illinois’ 529 college savings plan. In addition to free admission, the first 100 children can take part in the Bright Start “Little Savers Crafting Workshop” to decorate and take home their very own piggy bank.
Speak directly with the Bright Start team to have your questions answered and learn how a Bright Start 529 account can help you reach your college savings goals. A 529 plan is a type of investment account that can be used to save for higher education. Illinois families that save for post-secondary education with Bright Start may also receive tax savings benefits. See how easy it is to give your child the gift of education at BrightStart.com.
We hope to see you on April 6 for a fun-filled and educational day!
The Bright Start Direct-Sold College Savings Program is sponsored by the State of Illinois and administered by the Illinois State Treasurer, as Trustee. Union Bank and Trust Company serves as Program Manager. Balances in your Bright Start account are not guaranteed or insured by Bright Start, the State of Illinois, the Illinois State Treasurer, any other state or federal agency, Union Bank and Trust Company or any of its affiliates, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (except as provided in the Program Disclosure Statement solely with respect to the FDIC-insured bank savings Underlying Investment), or any other entity.
An investor should consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other important information is contained in the Bright Start Direct-Sold College Savings Program Disclosure Statement, which can be obtained at BrightStart.com and should be read carefully before investing. You can lose money by investing in a portfolio. Each of the portfolios involves investment risks, which are described in the Program Disclosure Statement.
Before you invest, consider whether your or the beneficiary’s home state offers any state tax or other state benefits such as financial aid, scholarship funds, and protection from creditors that are only available for investments in that state’s 529 plan.