Noon Year's Eve 2026: Thu., Dec. 31 Countdowns at 9 Venues

Nine venues list a Noon Year’s Eve countdown for Thursday, Dec. 31, 2026, according to their own event pages read Nov. 15, with balloon, confetti or ball drops between 11:45 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time. Tickets run from $15 per child in Erie, Pennsylvania, to $35 in Sausalito, California. A free one-page printable with a countdown checklist and 2027 resolution lines is below the table.

Noon Year’s Eve 2026 countdown times and prices by venue

Venues are sorted by time zone, east to west. Times are local, as each page prints them. Where a page gives no price, the table says so.

Venue	City	Hours	Countdown	Price or ticket
Long Island Children’s Museum	Garden City, N.Y.	10 a.m.-5 p.m.	Ball drops at noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.	Adult $25, child $25, age 65 and up $23, as listed
Experience Children’s Museum	Erie, Pa.	Not listed	Balloons and confetti at noon and 4 p.m.	Pre-registration $15 per child, $13 per adult
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis	Indianapolis	Not listed	Countdowns at noon and 1 p.m.	Included with museum admission
Toledo Zoo	Toledo, Ohio	10 a.m.-1 p.m.	Ball rises at noon in the Main Plaza	Price not given on the page
Children’s Museum Houston	Houston	9 a.m.-5 p.m.	Ball drop 11:45 a.m.-12 p.m., Allen Family Courtyard	General admission; price not listed on the event page
Science Center of Iowa	Des Moines	9 a.m.-2 p.m.	Balloon drop at noon	Included with general admission; tickets limited
Kansas Children’s Discovery Center	Topeka	9:30 a.m.-12 p.m.	Confetti countdown at noon	$27 for adults and children
Bay Area Discovery Museum	Sausalito, Calif.	9 a.m.-2 p.m.	Not listed	General admission $35; members $10 per ticket; Discovery Circle members free
Discovery Cube Los Angeles	Sylmar, Calif.	Not listed	Balloon drops at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.	Separate ticketed event; price not listed

Long Island Children’s Museum’s page does not say whether its prices are admission or an add-on, so they are written as listed. Discovery Cube Los Angeles’s frequently asked questions still say drop times are “to be announced”, while its event page lists 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Children’s Museum Houston’s page still carries an old “ring in 2026” line, so check its hours and prices before you go.

What else is planned at these events?

Toledo Zoo lists crafts, an apple juice toast and a 2027 resolutions activity with its noon ball rise. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis says free festive favors are available while supplies last. Kansas Children’s Discovery Center bills its morning as a way to “ring in 2027” and sells tickets for the 9:30 a.m. to noon window. Science Center of Iowa asks families to reserve ahead because tickets are limited.

What did two venues run for Noon Year’s Eve in 2025?

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo ran a Noon Year’s Eve on Dec. 31, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with the countdown at 11:59 a.m. and the event included with admission. Santa Fe Children’s Museum’s 2025 Noon Year’s Eve sold out. Children’s Museum of Denver has posted a 2026 event; its page did not load when checked, so check its site.

What is noon in other time zones?

Each venue counts down at its own noon. For a family joining a livestream or planning around Eastern Time, the conversions are computed: noon ET is 11 a.m. Central, 10 a.m. Mountain and 9 a.m. Pacific on Dec. 31. Midnight is a different event: the Times Square Alliance says its free webcasts begin at 6 p.m. ET on Dec. 31. For the midnight clock in every zone, see the New Year 2027 countdown by time zone, and for store and office hours, what is open on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day 2027.

How to run a Noon Year’s Eve at home

A home version needs no ticket. These are our suggestions, not venue rules.

1. Make party hats and noisemakers in the morning.
2. Pick a spot for the countdown and hang balloons or keep a bag of confetti ready.
3. Set a clock or phone to 12:00 p.m. and count down from 10 together.
4. Pour apple juice for a toast, as Toledo Zoo does.
5. Have each child write one or two 2027 resolutions on the sheet.

Pin the day on the December 2026 printable calendar and the first week of the new year on the January 2027 printable calendar. More printables for the month are in the Christmas 2026 gift tags, wish list and letter to Santa story.

Free printable: countdown checklist and resolution lines

The printable is one US Letter page: a five-step countdown-to-noon checklist, four write-in lines for 2027 resolutions and three sourced venue facts. Print at 100% size.