New London — Children packed the Garde Arts Center Sunday afternoon, sometimes leaving their families straggling behind them as they ran from one attraction to the next.

Hundreds of families brought their children to see the premiere of “Kidsploration,” a children’s program that will be broadcast online starting May 10, but there was plenty to do before the show began.

Two penguins from the Mystic Aquarium kicked off the event by waddling down a red carpet into the theater. Kids surrounded the carpet and got down on their hands and knees to get a better view of the animals.

Some parents got in line with their children to receive balloon animals, while others stood with their kids and watched a snake twist itself around the arms of a representative from the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center. Young girls flocked toward a living statue of a fairy, and a mascot from the Dinosaur Place in Montville roamed around the crowd.

But the children settled down when it was time to watch the first episode of “Kidsploration.” The half-hour show, which will air on The Day’s website and kidsploration.org, follows children’s music artists Steve Elci & Friends as they go through a portal to explore regional attractions.

Steve Elci and his partners, Casey and Michele O’Neill, began partnering with The Day to produce “Kidsploration” after the newspaper’s sales development manager, Dave Gellar, saw two of their performances. Gellar pitched the idea for the show to The Day’s publisher, Gary Farrugia, who signed a multi-year agreement with Elci.

Children bobbed up and down in their seats with anticipation as a few adults took the stage before the show began. One of the speakers was U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who was invited to the event by The Day. His brief comments praised “Kidsploration” for its educational value.

The show did provide more than entertainment: Elci and the O’Neills visited the Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic and the Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, where they learned quite a bit about animals and nature. A woman at the nature center provided some information about how composting works and spoke about a turtle and black rat snake.

The audience reacted more enthusiastically to the segment filmed at Roger Williams Zoo. During that part of the show, zoo employees explained how they analyzed poop from different animals to make sure they were in good health. Children squealed with disgust and howled with laughter during the lesson and subsequent jokes from Elci and the O’Neills.

After the show ended, the screen was raised and the kids in the audience burst into cheers when they saw that Elci and the O’Neills were standing behind it.

A live concert followed, with Steve Elci & Friends performing some of their songs. Topics ranged from trains to vowels to being a girl. Kids began to gather in front of the stage during the performance, dancing and singing, while others danced near their seats or simply ran up and down the aisles.

After the show, Sunita Patel said that she appreciated how “Kidsploration” taught her children about animals and recycling. She said her kids, ages 7, 9, and 12, got up to dance and sing. Two of them stood in line after the performance to get a picture with the performers.

Liz Williams, who attended the event with her kids and grandkids, said that even her youngest granddaughter, who was just a baby, was rocking and dancing in her stroller.

“I think I had more fun than the kids,” said Williams, grinning, as her family members took photos with a giant inflatable robot that stood outside the theater.

Her grandson, Devon, age 9, said that the show was “very funny and very creative” and that he liked learning about different animals.

His younger brother, Tha Canty, age 5, waited patiently for Devon to finish before enthusiastically listing off his favorite parts.

“I liked the part when the dinosaur was walking around, I liked the songs … I liked the whole thing!” he said.

k.catalfamo@theday.com