Downtown Mobile’s Exploreum Science Center gave its youngest visitors a chance to ring in 2015 without having to stay up until midnight, hosting a family-friendly “Noon Year” celebration on New Year’s Eve.
Families gathered in the museum’s atrium as staff lowered a scaled-down replica MoonPie from the second floor, mirroring Mobile’s famous downtown New Year’s Eve tradition that draws thousands to Mobile’s riverfront each December 31. When the countdown reached zero, confetti launchers scattered paper streamers over the crowd of children and parents below.
Museum staff said the confetti launchers and the mini-MoonPie prop used in the drop were built in-house specifically for the event. The idea behind the early countdown was simple: give younger children who cannot stay awake for the traditional midnight celebration a chance to take part in the fun on their own schedule.
Beyond the countdown itself, the Exploreum turned the day into a hands-on activity for kids, incorporating a cooking demonstration into its iHealthy kitchen space. Young visitors helped assemble their own mini MoonPies using vanilla wafers, marshmallow and chocolate coating, giving them a treat to take home after the countdown wrapped up.
The celebration also tied into interactive exhibits and craft stations set up around the museum for the day, keeping families occupied well beyond the countdown moment itself. Staff described the turnout as strong, with the atrium filling up as showtime approached.
The timing of the event also marked the close of a longer-running exhibit. Museum staff noted that the Exploreum’s popular penguin exhibit was wrapping up its stay in Mobile, with the animals scheduled to depart the following weekend. A dedicated send-off celebration for the penguins was planned for the Saturday after New Year’s, giving families one more opportunity to see them before they moved on.
The Exploreum has long served as one of downtown Mobile’s key family attractions, drawing school groups and tourists alike to its interactive science exhibits along the city’s waterfront corridor. Events like the Noon Year celebration have become part of how the museum tries to make its programming accessible to the youngest members of the community, particularly around the holidays when school is out and families are looking for activities close to home.