Dream a Dream Theatre
The playhouse appeals to children’s imaginative side and their desire to tell stories and be seen and heard. Youth “players” cooperate to create their theatrical masterpiece, learning together that the possibilities are endless. Language skills also increase, as children assemble a story to tell before their live audience.  Lots of choices are built into this area.  Children can select to use puppets in the puppet area, dress up in costumes and perform on the stage, or check out their moves on the big screen TV.  If they can dream it, they can do it.

Friendly Market and Café
Children will discover their familiar grocery store in new ways.  Our kid sized version of a market with all the elements of a real store is where they become a shopper, grocery check-out clerk, deli or produce clerk or re-stocker. The market will focus on nutrition and food choices.   It will also encourage math skills, with prices and one or more cash registers where food costs are entered. At the cafe, children can take orders, cook, wait on tables, or be customers.  This also has a focus on nutrition and math skills.

 
Treemendous Tunes Treehouse
Several levels of fun are available at the Treehouse.  Find the tunnel and crawl underneath.  Climb the steps or choose the more challenging “rock ramp” to the first level to try out the musical instruments.  Keep going up and what a view!  The playhouse attached to the treehouse provides another area to explore.

Camp Take-A-Break
Everyone needs a vacation and museum visitors are no different.  Walk away from the hustle and bustle of the other exhibits and just relax at Camp Take-A-Break.  Sleeping bags, a tent, a picnic table, and more are awaiting you. 

Build It!
Children “build” various construction projects in and around the workshop. Learning to use real tools and real materials safely provides a memorable experience that many children would otherwise never have.  In the building area, the walls go up and come down in time for a new house to be constructed by the next group of eager beavers.
 

The Build-It workshop operates the following hours:

                         Tues     11:00pm - 3:00pm

                         Wed     9:00am - 12:00pm

                         Thurs    9:00am - 12:00pm    

                          Fri       10:00am - 2:00pm

                         Sat       9:00am - 12:00pm

                         Sun      2:00pm - 5:00pm

The workshop is also open during the museum's evening hours.

Safe Haven Animal Shelter At the Safe Haven Animal Shelter, children role-play caring for all types of animals.  They have to make decisions on what type of pet would “fit” their home, their family as well as  the pet’s needs.  Would a horse be a good pet for your apartment?  What about a fish?  Also, children may encounter animals in need of first aid or medical assistance and they will learn how they might handle these needs.  

Air Maze
Everyone knows what goes in must come out….but where?  Kids will experiment with the force of air and cause/effect as they push a brightly colored cloth or ball into the Air Maze.  They will soon realize that by moving a flapper they can change the route the item takes.  Are they fast enough to catch the item?  If they can it’s simply airmazing!

The Race Is On!
At the Race is On!, children will learn about gravity, motion, momentum, force and energy.  Build a race car and race it down the test track.  How fast did it go?  What can you do to it to make it go faster?  Roll the ball down the ramp and see if you can make it land in the moving bucket. 

Tummy Time
Infants and toddlers will discover their world in this area using their muscles and all of their senses.  The area is designed to encourage infants to spend time on their tummies.  Previous guidelines have encouraged parents to keep their babies on their backs.  Research is now showing that these very young children do not properly develop their arm and hand muscles, which affects their large and small muscle control.   It also shows that they don't crawl as much (and later than they should be), with some children even skipping this important developmental step.  Skipping this step means that their spatial sense is not well developed.  Infants and toddlers have opportunities to go over, under, around, behind, in front of and through and to develop spatial pre-math skills. Caregivers comfortably watch and guide their infants and toddlers through important developmental experiences

Health Quest
Youngsters can “search” for knowledge of good health in this exhibit.  They can experiment with various tools of the trade, such as the stethoscope, x-ray viewing device, or microscope.  And won’t they be surprised when the drum beats out their heart beat, but what happens to the beat when they vigorously exercise?   Children who develop an effective understanding of basic health promotion can establish the foundation for achieving and maintaining personal health and well-being by making informed wellness decisions now and throughout their lives.

Water Adventure and Beachcomber Island

Water’s fluid nature means explorers can make waves interacting with the crucial liquid as it flows, falls and makes things float.  Children get a multi-sensory experience feeling the water splash, hearing the water bubble and gurgle and seeing the water as it moves and laps against its banks.  Children learn to appreciate the properties of this abundant and life-giving element. Follow the stepping stones or “swim” across the water to our favorite Beachcomber Island.  Comb the beach to find the “hidden” objects.  How many did you find?

Go Fly a Kite
Exploring and soaring is the name of the game as our friendly fliers create their own kite, hook it onto a pulley and watch it take flight across the museum.  The destination is only limited by their imagination!  Children express creativity and imagination as they design their kite using manipulation and eye-hand coordination during the process.  They observe and experience the science concepts of force and motion. Through “flying” a kite with a pulley system, children discover mechanical wonders. Children can follow their kite as it flies around the track. Youngsters will also get a better sense of “if-then” relationships, as they watch their kits fly higher and faster as they continue to soar around in the air.

Explore Art Studio
Activities involving ALL the senses abound in our Art Room!  Numerous forms of media will be available so our young artists can experiment and create their own masterpieces, surely to be hung on their home “Refrigerator Art Gallery”.  

Multi-purpose Room
The multi-purpose room is a great location for performances, group meetings, special occasions, and much much more.  In this room, children may be audience members or performers, teachers or students, observers or doers, workers or players depending on the activities and events that are planned.  And most importantly, what a great place to schedule a birthday party!