With theAugust 2013 opening of Playscape, a multiexhibit gallery stretching nearly 8,500-square feet, parents of children younger than 5 no longer have to wonder if their babies and toddlers are too young to visit the museum with their older siblings, relatives and friends.
“Research tells us that babies are born ready to learn,” said Cathy Southerland, the museum’s director of early childhood education. “Babies’ brains develop in a ‘use it or lose it’ capacity. Any time you can engage multiple senses, it makes the learning experience that much richer.”
Engaging the mind
Although the original Playscape opened in 1981 and received an upgrade in 1992, its latest renovation incorporates research completed during the last 20 years that notes the significant amount of brain development that takes place before age 5.
The new Playscape is a sensory wonderland that engages young minds through color, sound, multi-level surfaces that facilitate movement and the use of natural materials and textures. Babyscape, designed for the youngest of museum-goers, features tactile surfaces friendly to a baby’s hands, feet and tummy. Non-walking infants will love The Nest, a padded area where they can roll and crawl on a padded floor, grab rubber balls, smile at their images in mirrors and place their fingers on rough and smooth surfaces. Slightly older babies in the cruising stage can navigate small stairs, press buttons that release objects and crawl through plastic logs.
“At home, you’re always saying, ‘Don’t climb those stairs,’ or ‘Don’t touch that light switch,’” said Joanne Smith, a pediatrician with the St. Vincent Health Network in Carmel, Ind. “Babyscape offers experiences that kids aren’t able to do at home.”
Babyscape graduates can enjoy plenty of other exhibits designed to entertain and educate, such as The Creek, a waterfall and riverbed where kids can engage in water play and catch plastic fish; the self-explanatory Sandbox; a music studio that introduces children to instruments from around the world while encouraging them to make sounds; and an art studio with nontoxic materials where kids can create masterpieces to hang on the refrigerator back home.
Budding engineers will love Reaction Contraption, a Rube Goldberg-like apparatus where kids can navigate small yellow balls through a series of twists and turns created by simple machines they can operate. The Whirly Twirly Tower blasts air when visitors enter, teaching children the nature of aerodynamic forces, and Blockopolis lets future architects build structures with blocks.
Then there’s The Climber, a network of lily-pad shaped stairs kids can scale to new heights. Mesh netting keeps youngsters safely inside as they work to navigate the exhibit designed to resemble a pond habitat.
Playscape’s emphasis of nature isn’t accidental — exhibits were designed to reflect what children would find outdoors, down to the natural colors.
Planners also added ceiling-to-floor windows that emit natural light.
Getting in the game
Adult involvement is highly promoted, and caregivers are encouraged to get on the floor, pull up a chair, pick up an instrument or find other ways to participate with their children and talk to them about their play experience.
“We want to foster family learning,” Southerland said. “Every child’s experience will be richer here if the caregiver is playing along with the child.”
Need a break? You don’t have to go far to find a quiet space to rest. Baby care rooms are located inside the exhibit to keep adults from venturing long distances to feed or change a cranky baby or toddler.
Family restrooms complete with a toddler-sized potty sit inside the exhibit, along with three rooms with comfortable leather chairs available for moms to feed their children in a private, quiet space. Electrical outlets and hot-water spigots are also nearby.
Other exhibits
The Children’s Museum’s mainstays remain popular draws. The Carousel Wishes and Dreams merry-go-round is a longtime favorite, and The Power of Children is a bold piece that uses the stories of Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges and Ryan White to illustrate how young people can promote change in the face of discrimination and hatred.
Less than two hours from Dayton, the museum sits a few miles north of downtown Indianapolis. Admission is $18.50 for adults 18-59, $17.50 for seniors 60 and over, and $13.50 for children 2-17. Hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and closed Mondays through February 2014.
Parking is free.
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