Santa's Science Lab, Train Car Tours, Noon Year's Eve Mark the Holiday Season at Science Museum Oklahoma
December 13, 2019
Science Museum Oklahoma's 1929 Pullman Parlor Car is open for guided tours through Jan. 1, 2020.
Science Museum Oklahoma is jumping into the holiday spirit this Christmas season with activities throughout the month of December including transforming the museum into Santa’s science lab on Dec. 21, tours of the museum’s 1929 Pullman parlor car and a Noon Year’s Eve celebration on Dec. 31 — all included with admission or museum membership.
“Science Museum Oklahoma is a wonderful place to be during the holiday season – the museum is decorated, our Pullman parlor car is open for tours and we have some really fun special events that dig into the science that surrounds this time of year. It’s also a wonderful time to become a museum member, with our 6-person membership on sale through Dec. 31,” said Clint Stone, vice president for programs at SMO.
throughout the museum during the holiday season.
From 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 21, SMO will celebrate Santa’s Scientific Saturday with a sleigh full of special events including Santa’s STEM lab with candy cane coded message ornaments, Santa-themed STEM challenges, paper snowflake design, ice orbs, making faux snow, a Christmas-themed Storytime Science with paint-and-shake Christmas ornaments and converting the Tinkering Garage into a gingerbread house village.
From 9 a.m. to noon on Dec. 31, SMO will host a Noon Year’s Eve celebration featuring a special engineering challenge to build individual cardboard floats for a parade around the museum, noise-maker making, the science surrounding the most iconic part of New Year’s Eve — dropping the ball in Times Square — and a celebration with a lot of toilet paper streamers, courtesy of SMO-modified leaf blowers, when the clock strikes noon.
A holiday favorite for many families, the museum’s 1929 Pullman parlor car is open for guided tours during regular museum hours through Jan. 1. Normally closed to the public to maintain its preservation, the museum’s Pullman parlor car was built for the Missouri Pacific Railroad and was donated to the then Kirkpatrick Center, now Science Museum Oklahoma, in 1982.
The refurbished interior of the 90-year-old train car reflects its original grandeur and features brass, chrome and mahogany woodwork that was cleaned, polished and repaired. Aging upholstery, drapes and carpet were replaced with fabrics fitting the time period and the car’s original decor.
“The Pullman parlor car is an artifact that you can walk through – our guides are not only walking you through a nearly-century-old train car, they’re walking you through history,” Stone added.
Tours are available during regular museum hours through Jan. 1 and are included with general admission. No reservations or additional tickets are required.
Through Dec. 31, SMO’s 1-year, Silver 6 Membership is on sale for $145, normally $165. Memberships are valid for six designated guests and can be purchased online, at the museum or over the phone.
Located at 2020 Remington Pl. in Oklahoma City, Science Museum Oklahoma is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. The museum is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and open on New Year's Day. Daily general admission is $16.95 for adults (ages 13-64) and $13.95 for children and seniors (ages 3-12 and 65 and older). Annual memberships begin at $105.
For more information about Science Museum Oklahoma, visit www.sciencemuseumok.org.
###