SLIDESHOW: Treehouse Museum's Halloween party
OGDEN -- While many Halloween activities strive to scare their patrons, The Treehouse Museum in Ogden is taking a different approach: providing kids with a party where they can celebrate but not be scared.
The museum at 347 22nd St. held its annual Halloween party Saturday. Hundreds of children gathered at the museum to make crafts, play games, and participate in other activities the Treehouse staff provided.
"I think one of the best things about doing it at Treehouse is that everything here is based on stories," said programs coordinator Wes Whitby. "It's all non-scary."
Being a "non-scary" option for kids is an alternative Whitby said the museum doesn't mind providing.
"I think (Halloween) is a great time to frighten yourself," he said. "That works for all ages, but we like to be an alternative to that."
Instead, the museum focuses on activities that entertain, but not frighten. Besides games and treats, the children also get to act out books they may be familiar with in the theater throughout the day.
Autumn Sutterfield played the role of the pants when the kids re-enacted "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything." While she said she liked being on stage, she would have rather been the pumpkin head in the book than the pants.
Her mother, Joyce, of Ogden, said she has been bringing her kids to the Treehouse Museum since it opened 19 years ago.
"We love it here," she said. "They've always loved coming here since they were teeny."
Shannell Crabtree, of South Ogden, brought her daughter, Erika, 5, to the Halloween Party for the first time. Her daughter is home-schooled, so Crabtree brought her to the museum so she could attend a Halloween party with many other children.
"(I bring her) to learn and just to interact with other kids," she said. "It's a way to have a Halloween party for her."
But planning events like this aren't all fun and games, Whitby said. The most difficult part for him, he said, is knowing how many children to expect at the events.
"Traditionally, (Halloween) is a slower party for us," he said. "In past years, we've had as few as 50, and as many as 800."
The Treehouse Museum's next event will be a series of plays performed by the Treehouse Troupe, the museum's resident theater company. For more information about the event, visit www.treehousemuseum.org.
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