New Life in an Old Space
Mighty Children's Museum
Working With the Community
When a group of families in Chillicothe, Ohio wanted to develop a children's museum for the area, they called on Boss Display to design, develop and build the gallery. Because they were in the initial phases of raising money, we agreed to a phased-in design approach. This made it possible for us to create concept designs that could be used to encourage people and organizations to donate money to the capital campaign. The overarching goal was to build a gallery focused on imaginative play, which was perfect for their target audience of younger children from preschool to early school age.
Bringing the Space to Life
To get things started, we traveled to Chillicothe to view the approximately 3,000-square-foot space, which was previously a movie theater. We had to visualize how to give the dark space new life as a children's museum, complete with bright colors and elements for hands-on pretend play, social development, open-endedness and creativity. The plans included a three-dimensional scarf tree that propels fabric squares through pneumatic tubes before they exit and float to the ground; a farm-to-market area that includes a tractor, food cart, cashier stations and more; a medical area, complete with a role-play ambulance and x-ray viewing machine; a giant Lite Brite-style pegboard, and a water table that features everything from intertwined boat tracks and river channels to an interactive fountain.
Managing the Installation
Although we've designed and built many scarf exhibits, this was our first three-dimensional version, and it turned out to be a popular feature. Installation posed some unique challenges. The ceilings were unusually tall, which made it difficult to install the 50 natural-looking leaves that needed to hang from above. This required a great deal of navigation and a time-consuming effort that required hanging a few, going down to check it out, and then hanging a few more. Small doorways created yet another challenge, making it difficult to move items in and out with a forklift. Even the doorway that could accommodate the forklift had a step-down, so a ramp had to be constructed.
“Boss Display is the first company we recommend to other communities just because of the ease and responsiveness of their team”
A Community Effort
With the exception of the soft play exhibit, we built everything in the space. We even designed the wall art so local artists could trace and paint it for the final touch. Board members and their families were very involved throughout the process, and much of the design was influenced by what the sponsors wanted in their exhibits. Today, the Chillicothe community has a hands-on imaginative play gallery for young children – a fun place to develop their social and emotional skills.
Features:
Three-dimensional interactive scarf tree with feed points, diverter boxes, twisting branches and suspended leaf panels
Illumination station exhibit with self-closing black-out doors, fluorescent acrylic pegs, and high-efficiency LED lights
Medical area with a role play ambulance, x-ray viewing station, nursery, and heart beat sensor interactive
Farm-to-market play area with chicken coup, vegetable field, cashier stations, corn and apple trees, tractor and a food cart
Water table with intertwined boat tracks, boats, topography and river channels, interactive fountain with wands, fog mushroom, interactive rain clouds, and a hand pump faucet with water toys
Hopewell archaeological dig pits with embedded fossil artifacts, digging tools, pin art interactive and weaving station
Other Featured Work
