All-Star Transportation and EverWonder Children’s Museum hosted a bus-themed community day at the museum on Friday, August 15.

People of all ages could stop and enjoy a wide variety of activities, from arts and crafts to a Touch-A-Bus experience.

Children and parents worked together to make a bus out of craft sticks inside the museum, coloring in two sticks to be tires and adding two clear gems to be headlights. They could decorate the bus to their own liking before writing their name or their school across the top of the bus.

All-Star also had a judged coloring contest for kids to enjoy, where they could win a bag full of goodies for coloring in a cartoon photo of a school bus.

Perhaps the most exciting part for kids was the Touch-A-Bus experience behind the museum. Children could see, touch, and get inside a school bus with the help of All-Star drivers, who would give a short and informative tour. Kids even had the chance to sit behind the steering wheel and see what it would be like to drive a bus.

Beside the Touch-A-Bus was a bus photo stand-in for people to take pictures with and an informational All-Star table. All-Star Recruiting Manager David Decker and All-Star Terminal Manager Colleen Peck ran the booth, where they were actively recruiting bus drivers, monitors, and fleet technicians during the event.

While All-Star has held open houses in the past, Decker said they were looking to do something else to bring people in and talk to them about what it is like to be a school bus driver. Beyond that, he said they wanted to connect with Newtown residents.

“We want to show that we’re a part of the community,” Decker said. “We want to make sure that we’re present in neighborhoods, so we felt that sponsoring a day at EverWonder was a good opportunity.”

He continued by saying that a bus-themed day would be a special way to celebrate the back-to-school season.

Decker also felt that the Touch-A-Bus experience would be a great way to introduce students going into pre-K or kindergarten, who have never been on a bus before, to what it looks and feels like.

Getting onto a bus for the first time, he said, can be a scary experience for some kids, so helping them get used to the bus is one step to making their school experience better.

“It’s just always nice to see the kids smiling or enjoying coming to visit us,” Decker said.

On top of that, All-Star covered a portion of admission costs for the first 65 patrons, so guests could also enjoy EverWonder’s exhibits during the event.

EverWonder Museum Manager Niki Giordano said their partnership with All-Star is one they have always appreciated, as they provide transportation for the Invention Convention and other activities. Above all else, Giordano said she was happy to see families having fun together.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.