— Museum celebrates by turning its plaza into a whimsical, candy-filled world at its annual Birthday Bash gala —

Denver, CO – In 1973 the Children’s Museum of Denver got a rolling start when a group of progressive Colorado parents and educators created a traveling educational experience for young children in a renovated school bus. Today, after 40 years of evolution, expansion and development, it would take nearly 40 buses to match the square feet needed to accommodate the 314,000 children that walked through the Museum’s doors last year.

This year, the Museum continues to make moves by striving to provide the best imaginative and creative play-based learning in Denver. The original mission of the Children’s Museum of Denver – to create a place where children and their grown-ups learn through play – has remained the same, but the implementation continues to evolve.

Today, the Museum is made up of 15 interactive exhibits, each one offering a different opportunity for hands-on learning. Children can construct and launch their own rockets, roll balls down ramps and tracks they design, build with blueprints and real tools, make a 6-foot tall bubble, paint, dance and climb aboard a real fire truck. The diverse exhibits and programs at the Children’s Museum of Denver are not just built for fun—they are expertly designed to encourage curiosity, creativity, critical thinking and confidence. It is because of this that caregivers are bringing their kids not just to have a good time, but to reinforce what they’re already learning, to learn something completely new and to spark a quest for discovery and a love of learning in all our young explorers, artists, scientists and inventors.

To celebrate four decades of creating a community of learning through play, the Museum is throwing the ultimate adults-only party. The much anticipated gala, Your Golden Ticket to Imagination, is set for Friday, May 31 at 6:00 p.m. Each year, the theme for the Children’s Museum’s Birthday Bash follows a beloved children’s book. For the 40th year, inspiration for the event is drawn from Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Gala attendees can travel to Willy Wonka’s world during an evening filled with pure imagination, snozzberries, fizzy-lifting drinks, and lickable wallpaper.

Event Chairs, Meredith Coors and Monica Denler, along with Honorary Chairs, Kim Van Deraa and George Karl and a committee of nearly 80 volunteers have worked for months planning the most whimsical fundraiser in town. The evening features silent and live auctions with a wide array of trips, tickets, artwork and local fare, cocktails, heavy hors d’oeuvres catered by Occasions Catering, live entertainment, and dancing to local band, Funkiphino. The evening also includes a raffle drawing for a trip for two to London.

Money raised at the Birthday Bash supports the Museum’s educational efforts, program supplies, exhibit development, community outreaches, and sponsored admissions for low-income children and families. Last year, the event raised over $300,000 through the generosity of the community.

For ticket purchases or questions please call Lisa Andersson at 303-561-0104 or visit www.mychildsmuseum.org.

Thank you to our Birthday Bash sponsors!
Major Supporters: Scribbles, Hogan Lovells, Jenna and Walker Stapleton/Harmes Fishback Foundation
Supporters: Gill Capital Partners, Gill Foundation
Major In-Kind Supporters: Butler Rents, Occasions Catering, United, ViaWest
Media Sponsor: 5280 Magazine

About the Children’s Museum of Denver
Since its inception in 1973, the Children’s Museum of Denver has been a place that ignites and fosters a great love of learning.  Our mission is to create a community where children and their grownups learn through play. The Museum provides rich play experiences and a dynamic learning environment to help young children prepare for their future.  The Children’s Museum of Denver is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that relies heavily on the support of Museum friends. The Children’s Museum of Denver is located at I-25 and 23rd Avenue (exit 211), in the Platte River Valley. For more details about the Museum, and its programs and events please visit www.mychildsmuseum.org.