An hour after the red doors opened to the public at the Children's Museum of Northern Nevada on Sunday morning, a small card table with construction paper cut-outs, glue and scissors was swarmed by eager young patrons.
The activity du jour was building carp windsocks, a Japanese symbol of courage and character, said Penny Holbrook, a volunteer and member of the museum's board of directors.
"We're really doing a lot with our multi-cultural celebrations," she said of Sunday's Japanese Children's Day celebration. "Today's is Japanese-themed. We've had a Chinese day, an Irish day - pretty much anyone who wants to come share their culture should come down here.
"We've got a lot going on this summer, but we can always squeeze in more."
Indeed, as the weather warms and classrooms are just weeks away from being emptied, the local nonprofit museum is getting ready for, what volunteers and organizers call "the summer surge."
The summer highlight is the annual "Kid's Karnival" slated for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 16. But there's "plenty going on every week" from now until then, Holbrook said.
Indeed, from "Making a Mother's Day Card" (10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 10) to "Penny's Arts & Crafts Summer camp (June 9 through 12) to the museum's garage sale fundraiser (Saturday, June 7), the downtown Carson brick landmark should be "at capacity," Holbrook said.
"That's the way we like it," she said. "We've got plenty of new exhibits too -especially activities for pre-teens and teens.
"If you haven't been here in awhile, summer's the time."
If you go
Upcoming Children's Museum events:
10 a.m. Saturday, May 10 - Make a Mother's Day Card
All-day Saturday, June 7 - Children's Museum Garage Sale
9 to 11 a.m. June 9 to 13 - Penny's Arts & Crafts Summer camp
1 to 3 p.m. every Tuesday June 17 to July 8 - Earth Friendly Arts & Crafts
For a complete list of activities visit www.cmnn.org or call 884-2226.