Bring on the balloons!

The Countdown to Noon returns on Sunday, as a way for kids to usher in the New Year. This event, sponsored by the Niantic Children’s Museum and East Lyme Parks & Recreation and held at the East Lyme Community Center, boasts all sorts of entertainment, but the highlight is when more than 300 balloons drop from the ceiling at noon.

Also part of the festivities:

Youngsters can meet animals like a serval cat, a porcupine, or a pygmy goat, thanks to Wildlife Encounters of New Hampshire. (The animal shows are at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.)

They can participate in the crafts and activities that community organizations are offering, and they can see Captain America and Black Panther.

And the Niantic Children’s Museum’s portable, inflatable planetarium dubbed STARLAB will be on site, serving up a 20-minute program about stars, constellations and seasons.

Countdown to Noon, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday, East Lyme Community Center, 41 Society Road, East Lyme; pre-registration required; no tickets sold at event; admission is $10 for museum members, $12 for non-members (there’s an additional $3 charge for STARLAB, which is for ages 6 and up); nianticchildrensmuseum.org.