A usually empty space in The Patios of the Valencia Town Center was transformed into a science haven for children last weekend for the LEAP Children’s Museum pop-up event with hands-on and engaging exhibits.
The event was held throughout the weekend of Aug. 22 and 23 and welcomed children ages 6-12 to participate in various activities that promoted curiosity, learning and creativity.
Over the past few years, Santa Clarita’s LEAP Children’s Museum has helped pop-up events with the future goal of having a permanent space. Past themes included Healthy Heroes, which explored worlds of wellness and health, and Innovators of Tomorrow, which highlighted professions such as engineering, construction and design.
The pop-up event partnered with Boston Scientific for the science workshop, and as one of the main organizers this year, Emily Lytle-Painter said that, for the nonprofit to achieve its goal of creating a permanent location, support from the community is essential.
Carl Ermelbauer was the second lead organizer of the event and spent the day welcoming families and overseeing the reality of their efforts.
“We’ve done pop-ups in the past, but this is our way to show what we can do and what we could offer Santa Clarita if we could be here all the time,” she said on Aug. 22 during one of the workshops. All workshops also met California science standards, ensuring that the children were exploring concepts they would learn in a classroom setting.
With the Santa Clarita Valley priding itself in being a family-oriented community, to those involed in the effort it would only make sense to have a LEAP Children’s museum in the area making it another destination for families to visit.
“I can’t wait until there’s an actual physical children’s museum. I think that’s something that our valley and our city truly needs,” Santa Clarita Councilwoman Marsha McLean said as she paid a visit during Saturday afternoon. She added that lead organizers for the pop-up event applied for an arts grant from the city, which was granted to make the science workshop a reality.
“I hear all the time from families who want events for kids, family-oriented friendly spaces to bring their kids and this definitely fits that bill,” McLean said, and added to fulfill this reality, families and others who support the mission should consider donating to the efforts.
Although there is no set date with a permanent location, volunteers with the LEAP Children’s Museum were very hopeful it could happen within the next few years.
Boston Scientific spokesperson Teri March said a partnership with the LEAP museum seemed perfect because they strive to create Science, Technology, Engineering, Artsand Mathematics also known as STEAM programming, for children to engage with.
“We like to partner with charitable organizations so that our employees have volunteer opportunities but that also meet our criteria for the STEM education,” March said.Boston Scientific provided all the materials for children to play and explore with for the weekend long pop-up.
