News

December 31, 2025, 12 Noon

Worcester, MA – The EcoTarium rang in the New Year with a thousand smiles, music, and laughter as families gathered on the last day of 2025 for the annual Noon Year’s Eve Countdown, a festive daytime celebration for young and old.

“We are so grateful for all of the community support the EcoTarium received in 2025 as we celebrated our 200th Anniversary,” said President and CEO Noreen Johnson Smith. “The Museum is entering a new era in 2026 as we welcome our first major national exhibitions in the Stoddard Exhibition Hall.” The Secret World of Elephants, produced by the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, will open at the EcoTarium on March 7, 2026, and will be available for visitors until September 7, 2026. This is the only opportunity to see this exhibit in Massachusetts as it begins its national tour.

At 12:00 pm, the balls dropped inside the EcoTarium along with exploding confetti and screams of excitement. Mayor Joe Petty greeted the families, wished everyone a happy New Year, and congratulated the EcoTarium on its successful bicentennial year. The Noon Year’s Eve Countdown served as a festive send-off to 2025, closing out an extraordinary 200th anniversary year for the EcoTarium.

Throughout the day, guests enjoyed making family time capsules, launching rockets, posting hopeful dreams on the 2026 Resolutions Wall, touring the solar system in the planetarium, learning coding to shoot digital fireworks, and creating crafts. The celebration captured all the excitement of New Year’s Eve without the late night fatigue, creating a memorable and educational experience for families of all ages.
To learn more about our upcoming 2026 events, visit our website.