An Underwater Adventure
Wonderland Play Center
Developing a One of a Kind Experience
Wonderland Play Center in Suzhou, China was looking for a truly unique experience to set themselves apart from their competition. In April 2018, they contacted Boss Display to design and build this gallery, Ball Power. Working across a language barrier with a client located on the other side of the world, we used straightforward visual tools to design the gallery from start to finish. Combining innovative components from previous projects with new ideas and interactives, we developed and built a space that is truly one of a kind.
Collaborative Problem-Solving
Children develop socially through playing together or in parallel as they use multiple conveyors and vacuum tubes to funnel balls into the central tower. Once full, the iris ball drop releases a colorful cascade of balls onto the visitors below, providing a fun and real-world example of cause and effect. From the engaging conveyors and vacuum tubes, to the interactive open-system wall, to the exciting central drop tower, Ball Power invites children to build confidence and social skills as they work collaboratively towards a shared goal.
Creative and Inclusive Exploration
The colorful and interactive features of Ball Power encourage visitors of all kinds to develop their own way to play. Children engage their creativity as they use their hands to send balls rolling and soaring while also learning the scientific principles controlling how the balls move. Visitors engage in fun and imaginative exploration with Ball Power as they construct their own experience, making it both inclusive and memorable to all.
“Ball Power is the most treasured experience in the Wonderland Play Center.”
Incorporating Hands-On Play
Children engage in hands-on interaction with Ball Power’s many fun features, creating an open-ended experience where many children play in parallel to move balls around the exhibit. From the hand-cranked vertical conveyor to the vacuum ball lift, there are varied and inclusive methods for visitors to engage socially while exploring the mechanics behind the different methods of ball movement. The open-system ball wall encourages kids to use wheels, knobs, and switches to construct their own path for the balls to take, engaging them in trial and error problem solving.
Features:
Hand crank ball conveyor lifts balls high above onto a track loading the ball tower
A vacuum ball lift where kids insert balls into a tube, filling the horizontal screw conveyor
A trap door ball drop lets children control the path of balls by pulling a rope
Turn wheel rotates the horizontal screw conveyor, pushing balls into the central tower.
Opening the iris-style ball drop releases an avalanche of colorful balls into the area below
Visitors send balls flying overhead through a series of air-operated blower tubes
The open-system interactive ball wall invites children to construct unique pathways for balls through a colorful course and into their buckets
Other Featured Work
