As students approach the end of the school year, they are looking forward to school events like prom. For this school year, prom will be held at the Children’s Museum for the first time. This means things will look different than in previous years, where it has been held at the Indiana Ballroom.
Prom will take place Saturday, April 25, from 8 to 11 p.m., and the theme is “A Night in New York: A Celebration of Style and Class.
"The Student Council was looking to change up the location. As they explored many options, they settled on the Children’s Museum.
“We wanted a fun environment for our high school students,” senior Student Council officer Karsyn Asher said. “The Children’s Museum is a fun environment, and it offers a lot more than a normal venue.”
A prom at the Children’s Museum means a much larger venue. Also, several exhibits will be open to students, including their newest addition, Tiana's Joyful Celebration. Exhibits at the Children's Museum have mini activities and interactive sights.
“If you’re not into dancing, you can go and walk around, and there will be many quiet places to hang out at,” Asher said. “I think it’s more inclusive than it was before.”
Students will be given the opportunity to explore a total of four exhibits in addition to the main atrium, which will turn into the dance floor with B-Swift returning to DJ the event. The exhibits that will be open for prom will be the Dinosphere, Carousel Wishes and Dreams, Take Me There: Peru and Tiana’s Joyful Celebration.
The Dinosphere shows the sights and sounds of the pre-historic era with opportunities to learn about the creatures.
In addition to the main carousel, the Carousel exhibit has a mirror maze and throwback video games like Super Mario Bros and Pac-Man. There will also be mini games provided on tables, such as Jenga and checkers.
The Peru exhibit is a rotating one that features a different country every few years, with Peru’s opening in 2025. This exhibit begins with a “flight” to Peru, with weather and educational information about the country. Other activities in the exhibit include a rainforest with hidden animals, traditional Peruvian restaurant and market scenes, a spot to brush and feed fake alpacas and even a band game with Peruvian instruments.
The Tiana exhibit includes stations for digital mask-designing and digital coloring, a place for people to make parade wristbands and a parade costume corner, as well as many New Orleans Mardi Gras-inspired photo spots.
“I'm surprised that it’s at the Children’s Museum this year instead of the Indiana Ballroom, but I think it’s good that we try somewhere else,” senior Axel Miranda-Nero said.
Most students appreciate that they don’t have to stay seated the whole time and instead can walk around and enjoy the exhibits if they prefer to not dance.
“I think it’s really awesome that they’re doing the Children’s Museum because it gives people who aren’t into partying the option to do more stuff like that,” senior Virginia Walthers said. “I also feel like the Children's Museum is just a better venue for something like [a prom].”
Food will be provided in the food court, including tacos, a brownie and cookie sundae station and a mocktail bar. Parking will be available in the free parking garage across the street, with a walkway connecting it to the museum near the second floor.
The Prom Court will be revealed soon, with three boys and three girls on the ballot for voting during the event.