We interviewed Henry Yau, Public Relations & Promotions Director at the Children’s Museum of Houston, to find out what the Children’s Museum will be doing for this year’s Spring Break that continues to make it number one in America.
What’s your favorite thing about spring break at the museum?
My favorite thing about spring break at the museum is seeing the museum in full use. This is the one time when I really see all of the areas of the museum being used to its maximum potential. In your first visit you can spend 4-6 hours, so just imagine during spring break if someone is there for the first time; they are going to be there for a long time.
How many people visit the museum during spring break?
We average about 5,000 plus people a day, which is great! It is a combination of out-of-towners and people who take advantage. We are a resource for family, we are like the only family destination that just caters to children alone, right? Not just grown up and children. That’s why people come here; we have so much to offer every day.
Photo Credit Children's Museum of Houston
What attractions will you have for this year’s spring break?
The highlight of this year is American Ninja Warrior Sam Sann and rising star Daniel Gil, who made it to the finals in the American Ninja Warrior competition. Kids get to see them through challenges and they get to interact with them. We want to show kids that being physically active is good for you, it helps with your coordination and balance. It really is a lifestyle and we want to encourage that and show kids that there are actually role models out there that they can see and meet. This year we have a couple of different things- the drones, and kids will actually be able to fly drones inside the museum! The other thing that came up this year is the Sticky Ball Arena, and it’s pretty cool because it’s been seen on Jimmy Fallon, but they basically wear these Velcro suits and they play dodgeball with the sticky balls.
Photo Credit Children's Museum of Houston
It is such a fun interactive experience and very safe. And of course we have the classics like the Human Hamster Ball and special events like Pi Day on March 14. We started this nearly 20 years ago. We are looking at the mathematical number, 3.14 and celebrating Albert Einstein’s birthday. And then to explain what “pi” means, we have our Annual Shaving Cream Pi Fight, where we shut down the street and people really come here to watch that. And then we have another special event- BMX bikes and they are going to be doing stunts and we will shut down the street again.
What do you think is going to be the most popular attraction?
Probably the American Ninja Warrior. The perception and the people’s reaction and feedback was amazing. I love when people are star struck but then when they realize this is just a regular guy who is like us and who is passionate about something that he loves to do…and just sharing what he knows with the community and Houston families and kids.
Photo Credit Children's Museum of Houston
In that case, you have received direct feedback from kids or their family after they attend the museum for spring break or for different events at the museum?
The feedback is always during the museum or sometimes they will leave common notes. Sometimes they will post on Facebook and tell us what a great time they had and that they will come back. Some of them say they are out-of-town but will come back next year for this event because their kids had such a great time and they made memories.
Why would you encourage parents to bring their children to the museum for spring break? Well, first of all parents know that the museum is not just the place for kids to have fun, right? Everything that we do at the museum has an educational aspect to it, whether its learning about DNA extraction, programming, how to program a robot or painting. So, parents do not have to feel guilty about their kids having fun because they are learning while having fun and as we all know, studies have shown that kids learn through play and what a great way and great place to take them to. It’s a safe place, everything is enclosed, we have 14 different galleries covering from culture to science to literature. You name it, they’ll find it here so there is something for everyone.
Are there different ways for parents to be engaged in the activities also? Well it is required because our policy does not allow kids to be alone. So parents have to interact with the kids in order to do all of the activities. Primarily, our exhibits are quite challenging for the kids and we did this on purpose because we want that bond to occur. We want somebody who has experience so that they can interact with the child, along with the staff, but it’s primarily parent as the first teacher and that should be our focus here.
How does the children’s museum continue to make kids excited about coming?
In general, we are constantly changing programming in everything that we do. Unlike any other museum in Houston, we are event centric not exhibit centric. We have 52 different themes per year and within those weeks, we sometimes have events. So we are constantly changing and giving families something different to look forward to. This is so that we keep families challenged and we keep kids interested and hooked.
Photo Credit: Children's Museum of Houston
How do the different events such as spring break help show what the museum stands for?
If I had to describe it to a parent-how spring break is a reflection of what we do, in three words: we are very interactive, challenging, and imaginative which is an important aspect of what we do. We are always trying to think outside of the box for any of the events that we come up with. I mean, where else could kids fly drones or meet an American Ninja Warrior? And that’s why I think spring break is a reflection of what we do. We are constantly striving to get families to come here and interact with their kids and show something different every day.
In what ways do you think this year’s spring break will be different from the ones in the past? It will be bigger and better! As a matter of fact, this will be the first year that we are going to have an after hour DJ dance party to kick of spring break. Friday, March 10, we are going to be open until 8 pm that Friday so that kids do not have to wait and so parents can go “yes” there is something that we can do this evening. We are definitely taking it to the next level in terms of performances- we are going to have a Double Dutch group. We had them before in the past but never for spring break. We are going to have Irish dancers and we have never had them for Saint Patrick’s day, so we wanted to be “edgy” and take the cultural aspect for spring break.
How have the different activities such as spring break at the children’s museum affected your life in terms of watching children have fun as they learn?
In April, it’s going to be my 10th year working at the children’s museum. And in that time span, I’ve worked with different kids who are now in college or grown up and what’s interesting is they always come back to me and say that their best memories of their childhood have been or were at the Children’s Museum of Houston. To me, that makes a huge impact and of course it’s something to be proud of because it is a place that you work and you know that it made an impact in their life. I remember kids playing in the engineering exhibit and now they are majoring in becoming engineers. So, the influences that we see in children as they grow up here is a really proud moment.
Is there anything that you would like to promote about the museum?
I want to tell people that we are America’s number one children’s museum for a reason. And I want to invite people to come to the museum with their families and friends and come experience what we are about. We are right in your backyard and we offer so much in terms of location, fun, entertainment and there is something different every day. Our trademark is “a playground for your mind,” but when you come here you will see why that is. There is so much interactivity that we put into all of the activities that we do. Kids actually take that with them and as grown-ups. We are an exciting museum district and you can come here and make it a full day.
