Edventure kicks off the holidays with the opening of Snowville and Gingerbread Jamboree

All families are invited to some holiday fun this season at EdVenture’s Gingerbread Jamboree, held each weekend through December 31. The holiday event series for children will feature photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, mini gingerbread house decorating, special visitors and holiday arts and crafts. The Jamboree will conclude with Columbia’s only BALL DROP for kids with activities celebrating New Year’s Eve around the world on December 31 from 11 a.m.–2 p.m.! As the countdown to noon begins, a giant illuminated ball descends and lands at the foot of EDDIE®, kicking off the biggest mid-day celebration in town!

Santa will visit from 1–5 p.m. on December 3, 4 and 11, and from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. on December 10, 17, 18, 23 and 24. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and sensory processing differences are invited for a sensory-friendly time with Santa and in the museum from 5–7 p.m. on December 11. Dancers from the Columbia City Ballet’s Nutcracker will perform Saturday, December 3, from 1–2 p.m. Autumn Hill, who plays the Sugar Plum fairy, will read the Nutcracker storybook while the Nutcracker character, played by Philip Ingrassia, will act out scenes during the reading.

Throughout the Jamboree, children will enjoy holiday readings of “Polar Express” and “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” create holiday ornaments, and sign up for graham cracker “gingerbread houses” decorating classes in our cooking lab.