It really is a New Day for Play here at Canalside as Explore & More – the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Children’s Museum opens our doors for daily play! With four floors of fun to explore and seven play zones for and about Buffalo, it’s a super exciting time for us all. Thank you for sticking with us WNY! Come play!!
Join us this Saturday, June 1st from 10 am – 6 pm for a full day of fun and engaging healthy activities located throughout the museum’s play zones and educational studios at Fearless Family Play Day presented by BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York. These family friendly activity days are held the first Saturday of each month, with BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York members receiving $1 off admission with proof of membership at check-in.
“We are pleased to continue our partnership with Explore & More,” said Julie R. Snyder, Vice President, Corporate Relations, BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York. “The addition of this museum to Canalside will only amplify an already special experience for our region and all who visit.”
June 1st Programming Schedule:
10:30am – 11:30am – Decorate your own Hula Hoop (ages 5+), Tinkering Tank, Sign up at desk, (free, limit 18 makers)
12:00pm – 3:00pm – Open Studio Hours for Tinkering Tank, Make your own game
4:00pm – 5:00pm – Brick Builders Club
1:00pm – 2:00pm – Make a Healthy Smoothie (drop in, free), Cooking Galley, any age
3:00pm – 4:00pm – Very Hungry Caterpillar snacks (drop in, free), Cooking Galley, any age
10:00am – 12:00pm – Make a Healthy Plate Art Activity, Art Studio (drop in, free), any age
1:30pm – 2:30pm – Yoga with Jody Quinn of Thrive Yoga, LLC. (ages 4+) Sign up at desk, (free, limit 14 children + caregivers)
10:00am – 12:00pm – Basketball in Playing Together (Mobile Fun Unit)
11:30am – 1:30pm – Learn about Hand Washing in Learning, Caring, Healing (Mobile Fun Unit)
3:30pm – 5:30pm – Sugar Testing Experiment in Farm to Fork (Mobile Fun Unit)
BUFFALO – Explore & More – The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Children’s Museum is delighted to bring the truck action to Canalside for a whole new way to play at Touch A Truck presented by M&T Bank from 10 am to 4 pm, Sunday June 9th. Tickets will go on sale to the public Wednesday, May 22nd.
Children and the young at heart can come together to share their love of all things truck and get up close and personal with more than 35 construction, emergency, utility and specialty vehicles to explore along the boardwalk at Buffalo’s Waterfront, with many activities being free. Children will get an opportunity to climb in, on and around these giant vehicles, typically only seen from a distance, along with myriad outdoor and indoor hands-on activities for the whole family to explore.
Free outdoor activities across Canalside include:
· Over 35 construction, utility, emergency vehicles to explore
· Fit and Fun with the BlueCross BlueShield Healthy Zone Cruiser
· Weather Wonder with Andy Parker from WKBW / Channel 7
· Special guest appearances by Sabretooth and the Superhero Alliance of WNY
· Book-mobile
Additional outside activities include:
· A Derby Car Tent – everyone’s favorite Touch A Truck activity for $2 to build and decorate your own mini derby car
· A VIP (Very Important Player!) tent that will include the following for a $5 donation to Explore & More:
o Bounce houses
o Imagination Playground
o Rig-ama-jig
o Face-painting
o Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Storytime
o Theater of Youth
o And much more
For even more hands-on trucking activities, the fun continues inside the museum for $15 general admission/$4 members. Inside visitors can explore and play in seven educational play zones and participate in hands-on activities that are all about trucks. Local sports mascots and beloved storytime characters will also be wandering throughout the museum to dance, shake hands and pose for pictures.
“We are so excited to be bringing Touch A Truck to Canalside as we simultaneously welcome everyone to our new world-class museum,” said Event Co-Chair Sam Savarino, who has run this event for several years along with his daughter Event Co-Chair Julia Spitz. “We have trucks, trucks and more trucks, with activities all over the museum inside and out. There is more to see, do and explore than ever before.”
This year’s Touch a Truck event is being presented by M&T Bank and supported by NFTA, offering many free activities throughout Canalside, including the chance to explore and climb in and on over 35 trucks.
For museum admission on this day, tickets are $15 each/$4 for members and need to be purchased in advance through exploreandmore.org. Funds raised at the event will go toward supporting operations at the all-new Explore & More – The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Children’s Museum.
Limited sneak peek tickets are now available here for our nearly-completed museum at Canalside! We are excited for Western New York to see all that we have in store at Explore & More – The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Children’s Museum. Opening festivities supported by RBC Wealth Management.
To reserve your ticket, follow the link above. Select the time slot and appropriate number of tickets to accommodate your group.
Buffalo is no longer the only city its size without a children’s museum as we prepare to open our doors at Canalside. The all-new 43,000 square foot museum spans four floors of fun with exhibits for and about Western New York. The exhibits tell the story of Buffalo’s history, community, sports, industry, innovation, architecture and agriculture – all through the lens of PLAY!!
The $29 million Explore & More – The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Children’ s Museum is expected to bring 250,000 new visitors annually to Buffalo’s waterfront. Our building was officially dedicated in gratitude to all of the public, private and corporate entities and individuals who helped bring this community vision to life.
Mary Wilson, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Chris Jacobs, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, Mayor Byron Brown, Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples and Assemblyman Sean Ryan were all on hand to help dedicate the building in honor and memory of the late Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Mary Wilson said her husband would be proud, “Ralph would have loved being here today with his name on a museum that will bring joy and fun to a community that he loved so dearly. That is how he lived his life.” The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation selected Explore & More as a recipient of $6 million in matching grant funds.
Explore & More tells the Story of Buffalo and Western New York through seven educational play zones. The museum has a wide range of fun and educational programming offered daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and seasonally, as well as on school holidays & breaks with something new and fun happening every day in the museum. Topics can include a wide range of subjects including STEM activities, art, music, culture, cooking and learning more about ourselves, our health, and our region. We will also offer free programming outside at Canalside every Friday during the summer.
Explore & More is invested in creating a museum that delights children of all abilities. We have developed visual, social, communicative, sensory, and behavioral supports throughout the museum – from quiet kits and call-ahead accommodations, to sensory friendly spaces, social narratives, visual schedules, visual/sensory maps, special needs changing table and more.
Explore & More – The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Children’s Museum hopes to help all children play into their potential during each and every visit.
We can’t wait to play!
