Hands-On Exhibits

Waterworks

River ramps and water tables offer endless opportunities for children to discover nature’s most interesting liquid: water! Buckets, funnels, waterwheels, pitchers, and other toys encourage hand/eye coordination and problem solving.

What We’re Learning & Skills We’re Practicing

Sensory exploration – Learning about liquid and temperature using our sense of touch
Pouring – Playing with cups, buckets, and funnels to practice filling and pouring
Buoyancy – Seeing which objects (like toys and hand-made boats) float and which sink

Ball Wall

Design your very own ball run with endless combinations of tubes, gutters, and more on our giant magnetic wall! A fun way to learn about gravity, probability, and object permanence through play.

Skills We’re Practicing & What We’re Learning

Strategizing – planning and mapping out the best way to roll the balls across and down the wall
Problem solving – adding and removing tubes from the wall to see what happens
Gravity – seeing the natural force that helps balls move from the top of the wall to the bottom

Imagination Playground

Build a fort, a ball ramp, or anything you can think of with Imagination Playground’s big foam blocks! A great activity for making new friends, dramatic play, and practicing gross motor skills.

Skills We’re Practicing & What We’re Learning

Collaboration – working together with new friends to build something grand
Imagination – thinking up creative ways to build a fort, a house, and other structures
Gross motor skills – using the large muscles in the arms, legs, and feet to lift, climb, and jump

Rocket Launcher

Launch a rocketship high into the sky with our hand-cranked, air-pressurized launching machine! Take turns testing your rockets while seeing propulsion and gravity in action.

Skills We’re Practicing & What We’re Learning

Propulsion – seeing how the air-pressurized machine propels (launches) our rockets
Fine motor skills – using the small muscles in the hands to grasp and rotate the hand crank
Problem solving – working on how to best design and place the rockets so they launch high into the air

Paintable Wall

This beloved Habitot Art Studio activity lets children paint using whole body movements, collaborate with the newly-made friend standing next to them, and learn about mixing and making new colors.

Skills We’re Practicing & What We’re Learning

Collaboration – working together with family and new friends to fill the wall with colorful paintings
Fine motor skills – using the small muscles in the hands to grip and use a paintbrush
Color mixing – mixing paint colors together to get new colors and shades

Baby Ball Pit

Babies and toddlers can enjoy a soft space to crawl and roll around in our colorful baby ball pit! A great place to practice tossing, catching, and color recognition.

Skills We’re Practicing & What We’re Learning

Motor skills – using the small muscles in the hands to pick up and hold balls, and the large muscles in the arms and legs to toss them and jump around
Color recognition – seeing and naming the differently-colored balls
Hand/eye coordination – tossing the balls out of and back into the pit