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Halloween 2023 at The Iowa Children’s Museum

Halloween at The Iowa Children’s Museum 2023

The Iowa Children’s Museum invites you to join us for not-too-scary Halloween events! Mark your calendar for a pirate-themed weekend of swashbuckling activities, a sensory-friendly trick-or-treat, and a one-of-a-kind finale for the spooky season.

Costumes are encouraged (but not required) at all Halloween activities. No one knows fun like The Iowa Children’s Museum, so COME PLAY this Halloween!

HalloWEEKEND (October 28, 29 & 31, 2023)

Join us for a weekend filled with swashbuckling Halloween activities in the museum that children of all ages will enjoy!

Bats, spiders, pumpkins, and more will take over our exhibits during the spooky season and families can check out special Halloween activities on October 28th, 29th, and 31st (closed Monday).

Pirate Pete’s Trick-or-Treasure Takeover: Our mascot, Pete, is wearing his pirate costume for Halloween this year and taking over the museum with spooky, swashbuckling fun! Build a sea-worthy ship in the blue room, make a pizza with treacherous toppings, and deposit gold doubloons at the bank. We’ll also have pirate training activities, a scallywag scavenger hunt, sea shanty sing-alongs, and so much more! 

Learn More. View Facebook Event.

 

Sensory Friendly Halloween (October 29, 2023)

Join us for a special Halloween-themed Sensory Friendly Night! As part of our HalloWEEKEND activities, this free event offers sensory-friendly activities in a calmer environment and opportunities to collect treats in our museum exhibits.

Costumes are encouraged (but not required!) as you look for our “treat stations” throughout the museum. In line with the Teal Pumpkin Project, all treats will be small non-food items to avoid allergy concerns. We will also have not-too-spooky Halloween activities.

Learn More. View Facebook Event.

 

Jack SPLAT! (November 4, 2023)

Don’t toss your Jack-O-Lanterns in the garbage—let us toss them from up high instead! This free outdoor event gives your carved creations one last hurrah for the Halloween season when we throw them off the parking ramp next to Chauncey Swan Park. Come for the SPLATS, but stay for outdoor activities, jokes from Pete the Turtle, and treats!

Pumpkin drop-off will start at 9:15 a.m. in Chauncey Swan Park on Saturday, November 4th. Activities will begin around 9:30. The pumpkin SPLATS will start at 10 am. All pumpkins will be dropped by our team.

Prep your pumpkin: Pumpkins must be gutted (this is Jack SPLAT, not Jack THUD). We compost Jack Splat pumpkins, so please remove candles, artificial lighting, or any other decorations that are in or attached to the pumpkin. This includes stickers, ribbons, glitter, and remnants of candle wax inside.

Learn More. View Facebook Event.

Looking for more ways to play? Check out our event calendar!

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Give the gift of play!

Fuel their curiosity and create lasting memories—memberships, gift certificates, and unique toys from our gift shop will spark joy, learning, and endless play!

Closed August 26th-30th

The Iowa Children’s Museum will be closed Monday, August 26th, through Friday, August 30th, for routine cleaning and maintenance. Thank you for your patience while we work to make our exhibits even better for your next visit!