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FAIRMOUNT (WTXF) - Staying up till midnight can be tough for kids and their parents on New Year's Eve. But, Philadelphia's Please Touch Museum has a solution and it's called the "Countdown to Noon."
Crowds of kids and their accompanying grownups assembled early.
"We have a couple thousand. We have room for a few more," said Trish Wellenbach, CEO of Please Touch Museum.
Excitement building as families stakeout just the right spot for the ball drop.
"How excited are you?" asked Fox 29's Joyce Evans.
"So excited," said 5-year-old Pierce Germinor.
Germinor and mom Lawana are visiting from West Palm Beach, Florida.
"This is one of the very few things we can do with him on New Year's that really involves him," Lawana explained.
The whole point of the Please Touch Museum's tradition is to present a Times Square production for tots, but Philly style.
"No come on, we're better than Times Square because it's daylight, it's families. It's kids and everybody's having a blast," said Wellenbach.
"It was so cool. It was just like a rainstorm of confetti," said Stanley Waite.
And, Sparkle provided little private countdowns on the side.
And, about all that confetti tossed about - no need for professional cleanup. It was a collector's item.
Usually the ball drop is the final act of any New Year's celebration, but not at Please Touch Museum.
"I didn't realize there was so much in this museum. So, it's just great for kids," Lawana said.
"The tea party here. The bunny tea party," said Juliette Salimbene.
"And that was good?" asked Evans.
"Okay," said Juliette.
"My name is Pierce, Fox 29 News," said Pierce.
Just one more thing, Pierce, as we say goodbye to 2018 -
Happy New Year! Happy New Year! Happy New Year!