Third annual Touch-A-Truck to be held Tuesday

POCATELLO – Kids will have the chance to interact with something they can usually only see from their car window – big trucks.

Together, the Museum of Clean and My World Discovery Museum will be holding its third annual Touch-A-Truck on Tuesday. The event, which offers children an interactive learning experience, will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 711 South 2nd Avenue.

“(This is) an event where kids can see, touch and explore different vehicles, and just get up close to all sorts of trucks and construction equipment, so it’s a really engaging experience,” said Haley Van Dyke, event director for the Museum of Clean and My World Discovery Museum.

And this year will be the first to feature a helicopter flyover as a part of the festivities. The flyby will take place, weather and emergency permitting, at 6 p.m. and be done by Portneuf Air Rescue.

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Touch-A-Truck began in 2024, and was held by the two museums as a grand reopening when My World Discovery moved from its original location in the old Pine Ridge Mall to the the Museum of Clean’s campus, occupying two floors of the building.

As it was the first time holding the event, they didn’t know how many people to expect to show up. That first year saw around 3,000 people attend, prompting them to decide to continue it annually.

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“We didn’t expect it to be such an amazing turnout, and it was … and there was a need for an event like this, and so from then on we’ve been doing it (annually),” Van Dyke said.

Attendees will be able to see a variety of construction vehicles, including:

• A heavy-duty dump truck
• A wheel loader and mini loaders
• An excavator and mini excavators
• A dozer
• Skid steers

And there will also be a number of city and emergency vehicles, including:

• Pocatello Police and Fire Department vehicles
• An ambulance
• The Pocatello Trolley
• A street sweeper and sanitation truck
• A tow truck, from Denny’s Wrecker Service

Also new this year is the Les Schwab Pit Stop Play Zone, with an obstacle course and relay race for kids.

And at 5 p.m. there will be a “big dirt dump,” Van Dyke said.

“And then it turns into a giant sand play area for kids. That’s always a hit,” Van Dyke said.

Those looking to grab a bite to eat or something to drink will have six options to choose from.

• Blubird Pizzeria
• Dodo To Go
• Sweet Carts
• The Corndog Company
• LoLo’s HotCakes
• Soda Barn

While the event is free to attend for the community, Van Dyke said it wouldn’t be possible without financial support from the event’s sponsors. For children who attend, she said, “it’s a memory for them that they won’t forget.”

“That’s why we do it, to make those memories for her families in southeast Idaho.