News

December 8, 2025 

WORCESTER, MA – Hundreds of families and community members joined the EcoTarium’s second annual Frosty Festival on Saturday and Sunday. Frosty Festival transformed the new Stoddard Exhibition Hall into a holiday wonderland with Olaf the Snowman, Frozen Princesses, and Santa, along with winter science educational activities and fun snowball physics!  

A highlight was the EcoTarium’s new Sock Skating Rink, which quickly became a crowd favorite.  The skating rink delivered the sensation of real ice without the blades, bumps, or cold. Parents and children filled the hall with laughter, sliding across the “ice”. The new attraction will become a winter tradition, bringing non-stop energy to the Stoddard Exhibition Hall.

Visitors enjoyed a full lineup of holiday entertainment and activities, including a charming puppet show by Pumpernickel Puppets, face painting, holiday photo opportunities, train rides, and winter-themed educational programs such as Snowflake Symmetry, Winter Tracks, and Build a Winter Shelter. Educators offered Science Discovery Programs featuring Animals in Winter, Cold Science, Freezing Flora, and Snake Feedings. The Worcester Railers sponsor the model steam engine passenger train at the EcoTarium that carries visitors around a one-mile loop on the property.  “The Worcester Railers’ Explorer Express” train ride is a very popular attraction,” said EcoTarium President and CEO Noreen Smith. “The second steam engine has been beautifully restored and repainted by our team.  It is now on display outside the train station for families to take holiday photographs.”