Hundreds of children wearing pajamas and clutching jingle bells crowded into the Children’s Museum of Wilmington Dec. 19 to hear executive director Richard Lawson read The Polar Express, one of the highlights of the museum’s inaugural Polar Express Day.
More than 200 people came out to the event, which also allowed children to write letters to Santa Claus, make an ornament and ride in a miniature train. Museum staff members created Polar Express Day because they wanted to hold an event that was fun for children but not extremely costly or complicated to organize.
They started coming up with Polar Express themed activities, assistant director Tiffanie Siuta said, “and it just snowballed. Within 45 minutes we had the whole event planned and ready to go.”
Children were encouraged to wear pajamas and each one was given a jingle bell. After listening to Lawson read the classic tale of the young boy who meets Santa Claus after riding a train to the North Pole, children were invited to write their own letters to Santa Claus. In another room, they used paint and stickers to make Christmas decorations and ornaments.
Three-year-old Jessie Vernon peeled apart gold and silver star-shaped stickers and stuck them on a piece of green construction paper cut into the shape of a Christmas tree. She sat at a craft table, sharing supplies with other children as families milled around the room. Her mother, Elizabeth Vernon, said her daughter had been looking forward to the event all morning.
Before coming to the craft room, Vernon said she and her daughter rode the Arab Shrine Club miniature train outside. Shrine Club members invited families to sit in the colorful train cars while they drove the train in a slow loop in front of the museum.
Vernon said the train rides were exciting for the children because the club members enthusiastically got into character as train conductors.
“They were really good at playing the part,” she said.
The chilly air temperatures also complemented the Polar Express theme. Siuta said with the seasonal weather and the high attendance, the inaugural Polar Express Day “couldn’t be more perfect,” and it will likely become an annual event.
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