Reindeer, frogs, bears and dogs showed up for refreshments and activities at the Impression 5 Science Center on Saturday as the museum hosted its first Teddy Bear Tea.
About 30 children attended the event, which invited youngsters and their favorite stuffed animals to the science center for refreshments, crafts, singing, a visit from Santa Claus and a free health check for stuffed animals as they entered the tea room.
"It's a fine science," said Impression 5 spokeswoman Heather Nedroscik of the check-ups. "I don't think too many of them were found to be sick."
Impression 5 volunteers decided to hold the Teddy Bear Tea after it was discovered that Lansing's annual Festival of Trees, which hosted the event in past years, would not be offering it this year.
"We decided it was a great event and we knew that people really enjoyed it," Nedroscik said. "It was pretty important to them."
Leah Hinman said she appreciated the science center picking up the tea event.
"When I found out this week that Impression 5 was holding Teddy Bear Tea, I was very pleased," said the Holt resident, who has brought her five grandchildren to the teas for the past several years. "Impression 5 gets five thumbs up."
Among those upturned thumbs was Hinman's grandson Tanner Jones.
"It's really fun," the 8-year-old Eaton Rapids resident said as he sat pretending to feed his stuffed bear, Bob, a cookie.
Two tables away, Anthony Goodell was busy adorning his stuffed dog, Henry, with a cereal necklace he had made earlier at the event. The 6-year-old was visiting the Lansing area for Thanksgiving from his home in Virginia.
Outside of the tea room, it was business as usual at Impression 5. Families meandered from exhibit to exhibit and volunteers sat at display tables ready to teach children fun facts about science.
Because it is a nonprofit organization, the science center relies on volunteer assistance to operate.
"You need to serve your community to have it benefit at all," said Lansing resident Art Hasbrook, who comes to help out at the museum every Tuesday and Saturday. "Working with kids just makes you feel good."
Standing beside him, fellow volunteer and East Lansing resident Dan Taylor agreed.
"When I started coming here, I thought it was sort of lame - but now I really like it," he said. "Every time I come down here, it gets a little more enjoyable."
