MADISON (WMSN) -- After an 18-year run at 100 State Street, Madison Children's Museum closed its doors Sunday. They're moving into a new and bigger building on capitol square -- but before they celebrate their new digs, families came to say their farewells.



Peyton Jennings, 2, and his mother, Lachelle, spent the afternoon playing the bongo drums, and splashing around in the artificial creek.



"The water is always fun, splashing all over the place, and he just gets himself soaked," Jennings said.



Families hopped from exhibit to exhibit, laughter was contagious, imagination was everywhere.



"So many families have had their kids grow up here," said Jenni Collins, Madison Children's Museum director of development. "We just want to celebrate all those great memories, and let people have one last hurrah here."



Where else can kids play with a two-story tall contraption, send colored flags to crows nests across the room, operate equipment on a construction site, even tower over the capital city, directing traffic along the way? All this goes into hibernation.



"I'm really bummed because there's not that much to do in Madison in the winter with little kids," Jennings said. "This is definitely a lot of fun to go to, so we'll be missing it."



When the doors on State Street close, part of the building will live on. Forty percent of the exhibits will be moved into the new building. The rest will be recycled, or sold to other children's museums across the country.



For now, families are soaking in the atmosphere, a place where Lachelle Jennings says she and her son Peyton can let loose.



"They have to be able to run, stretch their legs. There's space for them to move around. There's new things to see, new things to explore, and it's a lot better than plopping them in front of the TV."



The museum is moving to another corner of capital square at Hamilton Street. When complete in August, the new facility will have three times as much space for exhibits.



Madison Children's Museum



Online reporting by Jeff Angileri



Children's Museum Closes with laughter, anticipation