Stepping Stones Museum for Children Brings Light to Learning

Get ready because Stepping Stones Museum for Children is taking you on an awe-inspiring journey that engages all of the senses! During its inaugural “Worldwide Community Lights Celebration,” the award-winning children’s museum will be transformed by a spectacle of lights that is sure to warm hearts, illuminate minds, evoke wonder, tickle whimsy and ignite the skies. From dusk to midnight, every surface of the museum’s exterior becomes a canvas for animated projections, glowing LEDs and an explosion of color. The amazing nighttime display is paired by day with interdisciplinary STEAM adventures, interactive storytelling and hands-on art making taking place indoors. The celebration includes the introduction of Light Nights, a special schedule of extended, evening hours filled with holiday hijinks and brain-building fun. This sleighful of excitement and festivity truly makes this the most wonderful time of the year at Stepping Stones!

From November 20 through December 31, Stepping Stones is focusing its energy on light with the “Worldwide Community Lights Celebration.” Visitors will discover the role of light in nature – how sunlight keeps our bones strong and our mood happy and how plants use it to make their food. Children can explore how light is used in photography and movies and make shadow puppet stories and their own animations while finding out why tomatoes are red, grass is green and the sky is blue. And they’ll see how we can convert light energy into electricity and focus light waves for a tool doctors use to keep you healthy.

For six straight weeks, the museum’s iconic entrance, tented courtyard and glass corridors will be transformed into a hi-tech work of art—a shimmering, glowing, dazzling celebration of lights and a gift to the community for all to marvel. And to top it off, there’s our most knowledgeable Bird, lit with a stunning array of ever-changing lights sitting prominently on the cupola above the museum’s whimsical building structure.

Stepping Stones will unwrap a new holiday treat during its Get Into It! FREE evening on Thursday, December 6. As the museum hosts its annual tree and courtyard lighting event, it will also kick off a new series of extended-hours evenings called Light Nights. On Light Nights evenings, the light spectacle will be on its full glory outside while Stepping Stones remains open late with special holiday-themed experiences to go along with its trademark brand of play-based learning and kid-powered fun. The Light Nights festivities will take place from 4:00 – 7:00 pm on Friday evenings from December 7 – 28.

“Stepping Stones is proud to launch this new, festive, exploration of light during the ‘Worldwide Community Lights Celebration,’” said Rhonda Kiest, President and Chief Executive Officer of Stepping Stones Museum for Children. “Our light festival is a nod to the millions of ways to brighten a child’s world at Stepping Stones. As we light up our grounds each night, we hope all see our museum as a beacon for the importance learning and inclusion and that the lights serve as a symbol of the museum’s continuous commitment to inspire young minds and imaginations.”

“The ‘Worldwide Community Lights Celebration’ is a wonderous way to tell the multicultural stories of the holiday season and provide lasting memories for you and your family.” Kiest said. “Every day, we will be showcasing the important role of light in our daily lives and how our understanding of the science of light enhances our understanding of the world. These amazing, interactive light experiences will encourage play-based learning and experimentation that our visitors will enjoy and lead to amazing discoveries.”

Those discoveries extend beyond investigations of physical and visible light. Visitors will be encouraged to let their inner light shine by expressing their unique talents and interests through daily STEAM-based museum activities and events.

Another component of the “Worldwide Community Lights Celebration” puts a spotlight on the reason for the season. Now through December 31, every new or renewed Family Membership will be matched using funds raised through Open Arms, the museum’s accessibility initiative, to provide a Family Membership to a family in need. By purchasing or renewing your Stepping Stones Family Membership before December 31, you’re not just giving your family another year of play-filled, unforgettable experiences. You are also “sharing your light” by making it possible for every child and family in our community to experience the joys and rewards of early learning and achievement.

The “Worldwide Community Lights Celebration” will take place at Stepping Stones from November 20 – December 31. There’s so much going on at the museum during these six weeks of wonder that you won’t be able to experience it all in one visit. Check out our daily calendar and plan to create some lasting memories with your family. For more information about the "Worldwide Community Lights Celebration," visit http://www.steppingstonesmuseum.org/lights.

About Stepping Stones Museum for Children
Stepping Stones Museum for Children (www.steppingstonesmuseum.org) in Norwalk is an award-winning, private, non-profit 501(c)(3) children’s museum committed to broadening and enriching the lives of children and families. Located on five acres in Mathews Park, the LEED Gold certified museum encompasses five hands-on galleries, multimedia theater, Family and Teacher Resource Center, Healthyville® Cafe and retail store. Stepping Stones also offers onsite educational events and workshops, school and group programs and traveling resources for schools, libraries and youth-serving organizations.

Stepping Stones is located at 303 West Avenue, exit 14N or 15S off I-95 in Norwalk. Museum hours are Labor Day through Memorial Day, Tuesday—Sunday and holiday Mondays from 10 am-5pm; and Memorial Day through Labor Day, Monday-Sunday from 10 am-5 pm. Admission is $15 for adults and children and $10 for seniors. Children under 1 are free.