Quantcast
‘Adult snow cones’ flowing tonight at Boston ‘Grown-Ups’ Museum – Metro US

‘Adult snow cones’ flowing tonight at Boston ‘Grown-Ups’ Museum

‘Adult snow cones’ flowing tonight at Boston ‘Grown-Ups’ Museum
NIC CZARNECKI/METRO

Three years after The Boston Children’s Museum first opened its doors to grown-ups, the drink, dance and act-like-a-kid business is going strong.

The educational fun zone will again transform into the Boston Grown-Ups Museum Wednesday night, and spokesperson Jo-Anne Baxter told Metro she is expecting kids at heart to turn out in droves.

The events, held every few months since then have brought in thousands – as many as 1,500 young professionals on the museum’s busiest night – with promises of a cash bar and Hoodsie cups, dance beats and playtime with bubbles and giant blocks.

“The people who come are smiling and happy and thrilled to be here,” said Baxter, director of public relations. “It’s really something to see. Everybody is here to have a good time and they want to find their inner child. There aren’t too many places where you can do that.”

Among the most popular attractions is the museum’s centerpiece three-story climbing tower – known to some visitors as the “flying potato chips,” she said.

Despite the mixing of a jungle gym and the boozy and tantalizingly named “adult snow cones,” there haven’t been any of the mishaps readers might be imagining.

“Everybody behaves themselves,” she said.

Grown-ups without kids can visit the museum now, but have to wear special ID badges. Most who take advantage of the opportunity, Baxter said, are museum employees scoping out ideas at one of the world’s oldest and most prominent children’s museums.

The first time the museum opened its doors to folks just looking for a good time, the response was strong, she said. It has remained popular, and each time museum staff offer something a little different. Last month it was an 80s theme (a proven way to hit partygoers right in the nostalgia bone).

On Wednesday night, attractions include a summer theme and tunes from Kupah “DJ Kupah” James, a Bostonian who fans of “The Bachelorette” might recognize as a contestant on the reality show’s 2015 season.

The Boston Grown-Ups Museum nights have been a big boost in revenue for the non-profit, Baxter said, but museum leadership are also looking at the long-term benefits of getting 20- and 30-somethings inside to check out all the games and exhibits and the endlessly stackable KEVA planks.

“They’re in their careers and will be starting families soon,” she said. “So we wanted to engage them to think about us as a great place for kids and families to come and have fun.”

That’s right, Boston. It’s all beers and Instagram pictures now, but pretty soon it’ll be your little ones crawling all over the Fort Point playtime emporium, not you.

Tickets are $25. Can’t make it to this one? Look for the next installment likely in store for October, which Baxter said could have a Halloween theme.