Cocktails at Modesto Children’s Museum? See what’s new there for adults

Playtime isn’t just for kids.

The people behind the Modesto Children’s Museum, also known as MoChiMu, know that and have responded to community requests with nights geared to adults only.

For safety reasons, adults can’t enter the museum during normal hours without a child, and children can’t enter without an adult, according to Christina Mize, director of advancement at the colorful new downtown Modesto spot.

So MoChiMu After Dark was established, to let ages 21 and older see and enjoy what the museum has to offer. And it comes with cocktails and food.

The first event was held Feb. 15 and attracted about 80 people, Mize said. Another will be held March 15 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. No others are scheduled for now.

“It was really successful,” she said of the first event, which brought out the community as well as donors and board members. They ranged from age 21 up to grandparents.

“We had people climbing in the climber, going ... down the slide,” she said. “Truly using the museum as kids.”

Participants also took part in the interactive exhibits and enjoyed cocktails, flatbread pizza, tri-tip sliders, spicy chicken sliders and desserts, all part of the $50 ticket price, Mize said.

Greens on Tenth donated the food and E.&J. Gallo Winery donated most of the alcohol. The After Dark options are fundraisers for the nonprofit museum, with $30 going to the fund and $20 spent on supplies and event costs.

The museum got a one-day permit to serve alcohol, Mize said, including its “signature bubble cocktail” that is an ode to its water lab. The drink is a cosmopolitan with a bubble on top that pops to replicate the fog of the Central Valley. The top is made with a bubble gun creating a fog that’s citrus scented.

That bubble cocktail was something that Modesto resident Veronica Tovar enjoyed during her After Dark visit. “That was just the greatest thing,” she said.

Tovar, 35, and her friend hit all the museum has to offer, but her favorite was the large climbing structure. “We went up and down that climbing structure and I still have the bruises to prove it,” she said. “It was fun to laugh, to be silly and just have so much fun.”

Her other favorite was the water room, where they played with water and balls. “It was interesting how long we were mesmerized by the water room,” she said.

Tovar is a licensed clinical social worker and play therapist with a practice in Modesto that specializes in children and adolescents, so she was particularly excited to experience After Dark.

Other special events

The After Dark nights are just one of the special offerings at the museum. People can hold birthday parties and rent the space for other events. See www.modestochildrensmuseum.org/celebrations for more.

The museum also will offer full-day, weeklong spring and summer camps this year for children, with before- and after-care options. A small winter camp was held to learn the system, Mize said.

MoChiMu hopes to hold the camps in winters and summers going forward, but Mize was not sure if spring camps will continue after this year’s, set for March 18-22.

Summer camps will be held June 10-Aug. 2. Information on the camps is at www.modestochildrensmuseum.org/camps

As for the adult After Dark gatherings, Mize said they aren’t sure how often they will be held after the one in March. There possibly will be one in April.

“We’re gauging with staffing and how many people come,” she said, with the hope of holding a series of the events a couple of times a year.

For more on MoChiMu After Dark, see www.modestochildrensmuseum.org/mochimu-after-dark.

They’re also talking to a senior living community about holding a field trip, she said.

“There’s just been a huge demand,” Mize said of adults wanting to experience the museum. “Play never goes away.”