New Additions Highlight Northeast Texas Children’s Museum Brunch with Santa

Commerce, Texas

Santa and Mrs. Claus will be making an early stop at the Northeast

Children and parents prepare crafts and write
letters to Santa at the Brunch With Santa event.

Texas Children’s Museum for the annual Brunch with Santa. This year’s event will be on Saturday, December 6 from 9:30 to 11:30. The Commerce Kiwanis will provide a pancake breakfast. Returning for the 2014 Brunch will be the cupcake Christmas train and balloon entertainment.

Santa will be surprised to see new additions to the Children’s Museum. The newly painted airplane contains additional interior enhancements. Hunt Regional Healthcare area has an added siren in the ambulance. The Duncan House and Cypress Bank exhibits are new. The transformation of the fort to a Pirate Ship is in progress. Most recently, the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum garnered the honor of Best Creative Children’s Experience in Texas by Official Best Of, a national travel site.

 “This is my favorite event of the year,” said Sharline Freeman, Executive Director. “It is exciting for us to see the children so happy with the excitement of Christmas.”

 In addition to brunch, several Christmas craft areas entertain the children. They may write a letter to Santa and mail it at the Children’s Museum. Children have the opportunity to play in all the exhibits. They can make bubbles in the Kiwanis Bubble Room, doctor the dogs in the Commerce Veterinary Clinic, buy groceries in the Brookshire’s Grocery exhibit, milk a cow, or play in any of the other play areas.

Santa’s elves will provide balloon entertainment
for Brunch With Santa participants

“This event has become a highlight for families in northeast Texas,” said Beckey Thompson, board president. “It is a great way to begin the Christmas season.”
Get your cameras ready, bring your wish list and say “hello” to jolly, old Saint Nick. Tickets for the event are $7.00 per person and are $10.00 at the door on the day of the event. For more information, call the Northeast Texas Children's Museum at (903) 886-6055.

Thhe Northeast Texas Children's Museum is located at 2501 State Highway 24, Commerce, Texas 75428.  For more holiday celebrations and events, be sure to visit the Events and Entertainment pages of Texoma Connect.

Children’s Museum Open House to Highlight New Exhibits

A ribbon cutting and other events are scheduled.

Shani Finney, Cory Finney, John Weatherford, and Sara Livingston
enjoy a time to explore the Duncan House.

September 17, 2014, Commerce, Texas

The Northeast Texas Children’s Museum is pleased to introduce expansions of both inside and outside the museum. Since beginning in 2002, the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum has invested in providing hands-on, minds-on opportunities for children.

This summer has been a busy time at the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum. More than 6,000 people visited the museum over the summer, and construction of new exhibits continued throughout June, July, and August. The Northeast Texas Children’s Museum has scheduled an Open House on Thursday, September 18 from 10:00 to 4:30 to recognize our donors and to officially open the new exhibits. The public is invited to attend.

A ribbon cutting for the Duncan Playhouse, sponsored by Duncan Insurance, the Cypress Bank exhibit and the Hunt Regional Healthcare Area will be held at 10:30 AM.

“Each of these sponsors has done so much for the Children’s Museum,” said Sharline Freeman, Executive Director of the Children’s Museum. “We also want to thank L-3 for painting our plane and refurbishing the interior of the plane. L-3 even donated airplane seats for the shuttle area of the museum. To be able to offer new exhibits for the children is very exciting for us, and we could not do this without the support of our sponsors.”

Visitors may also notice the brick façade walls that have been added to the businesses inside the Children’s Museum. The Museum has received many positive comments throughout the summer as children, parents, and grandparents saw changes with each visit.

“Additions been made to the inside of the Children’s Museum, and we will be introducing our guests to the Great Outdoor Discovery Area,” said Beckey Thompson, president of the board of trustees. “The development of this area is just beginning, but we look forward to being able to offer an outside area for the children. The support the Children’s Museum received through the Silent Auction in April made possible the initial development of this area.”

The children’s museum is located at 2501 Highway 50, the NW corner of Culver and Hwy 50, Commerce, TX 75428. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 to 4:30.  For more fun, interesting things for children and teens in the Lake Texoma area, visit The Kids ActivityCalendar.  

July Hails Month of Adventures at Children’s Museum

From Spa Day and Friends on Wheels to the Critterman and dinosaurs, July is set to be the “Month of Adventure” at the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum. Activities during the month vary on a daily or weekly basis.

July begins with Spa Day on Wednesday, July 2 at 1:30. The pampering begins as young girls make bath salts, get manicures, have their hair done and receive foot massages courtesy of Fire ‘n Ice.

Celebration of Independence Day is on Thursday, July 3 at 11:00. Dr. Wendell and Linda Edwards present a program, Children in Colonial Times. The Edwards appear in Colonial dress to show how children in Colonial times entertained themselves. Then Bettina Zvanut continues the experiences as she demonstrates how to make soap.  Homemade soap will be available for the children to take home.“Making soap was so important to families in Colonial times, and it is fun to show the children how that was done”, said Ms. Zvanut.

The “Month of Adventure” continues with a week of Friends on Wheels on July 8-11. Special guests appear at11:00 a.m. each day. Guests include fire trucks on Tuesday, police cars on Wednesday, trains on Thursday and Gus the Garbage Truck sponsored by Republic Services on Friday.

The Texas Bubble Lady, sponsored by the 10-2-4 Ranch, presents a bubble show on Thursday, July 17 at 2:00. Her appearance will highlight the week of Things That Go Pop on July 15-18. Other presentations of Things That Go Pop will be at 11:00 and 2:00 each day.

 There must always be a time for books in the summer. Puppet Productions presents Three Billy Goats Gruff on Tuesday, July 22 at 11:00 and 2:00. The Children’s Museum is pleased to announce the appearance of Mary Casad, author of Bluebonnet the Armadillo, on Wednesday, July 23 at 11:00.

the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum is the place to find a summer adventure.
As July ends, the Critterman Show comes on Friday, July 25 at 6:00. This presentation, sponsored by Dixie Turman State Farm Insurance and McDaniel Dentistry, reminds children of the adventure found in animals.  “We are pleased to bring quality entertainment for families to the Children’s Museum,” said Sharline Freeman, Executive Director. We appreciate the sponsorship of our local supporters in bringing the Texas Bubble Lady and the Critterman to Commerce.”

CSI Police Camp on July 23, 24, and 25 from 10:00 to 12:00 provides more adventures. Officer Chad Ballard of the TAMU-Commerce Police Department and Officer Alex Suarez of the City of Commerce Police Department will direct children through the adventure of crime solving.

From Spa Day to the Bubble Lady, and from Friends on Wheels to the Critterman, the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum is the place to find a summer adventure. For additional information on any of the activities, call the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum at 903-886-6055.  The Northeast Children's Museum is located on the NW corner of Culver and Highway 50, Commerce, TX 75428

Find more fun learning opportunities for Texoma area kids this summer on the Kids Korner on TexomaConnect.com.

Family Night Begins Exciting Summer at Children’s Museum

June activities and a free family night at the Northeast Texas Children's Museum are announced.
(June 6, 2014, Commerce, Texas)

There is no better way to begin a summer of exciting activities at the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum than to have a free admission Family Night sponsored by the 10-2-4 Ranch. The event will be Friday, June 20 from 6:00 to 8:00.“I know that families will be excited to have a free admission,” said Sharline Freeman, Executive Director of the Museum.

“I expect that they will also be excited to have an evening when the Children’s Museum is open.”
The excitement for the summer will continue with changes both inside and out of the Children’s Museum. Interior changes include a brick façade on the outside of stores to create a shopping mall environment. Duncan Insurance is remodeling the house exhibit. Hunt Regional Healthcare is providing an updated hospital exhibit. Changes to the building’s exterior include the addition of a large fenced in area. Plans for the area are still in the development stage.

Other activities for June include “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” by Puppet Productions at 11:00 and 2:00 on June Tuesday, June 17 Barbara Tucker’s fourth annual Cooking Camp is June 25, 26, and 27 from 10:00 to 12:00. This year’s recipes include a day of Half-Baked Breakfast, Wrap-It-Up Lunch, and Taste for Dinner. The Cooking Camp is for ages 6-12.
July activities include a Spa Day for young girls on July 2 at 1:30 followed by Children in Colonial Times on July 3. July will also bring a return of theme weeks such as Things That Go Pop Week and Dino Week. Along with theme weeks, there will be return appearances of the Bubble Lady sponsored by the 10-2-4 Ranch on Thursday, July 17 at 2:00, and the Critterman sponsored by McDaniel Dentistry and Dixie Turman State Farm Insurance on Friday, July 25 at 6:00 PM.

“We continue to evaluate each of our activities to see what is popular with our visitors and members,” said Beckey Thompson, Board President. “We watch to see what times appeal to our families and try to make changes as we see what is of interest to them.”

A new part of the summer will be Reward Cards for visitors to the Museum. After four visits, families may put their card in a drawing for a Museum-sponsored “Back to School Party”.

The Northeast Texas Children’s Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 to 5:00. For additional information, call the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum at (903) 886-6055.  The Museum is located at the NW corner of Culver and Highway 24, Commerce, Texas 75428. 

There will lots of fun acitivites for children in the North Texas and Texoma areas this summer.  Summer Camps off a wide variety of learning experiences and althletic camps offer kids the opportunity to sharpen their athletic skills and overall fitness.  Day camps in drama, dance, creative arts and natural science help young minds expand while having fun.  Find a list of youth activities and camps in the Lake Texoma area on
http://www.texomaconnect.com/Kids_Activity_Guide_Texoma.html