A father sat by himself making a kaleidoscopic design in ThinkSpace, stacking and restacking tiles. Referring to one of the challenge cards, he turned a tile and changed the order of the stack. After a few tries, he checked the design he made against the original. He then lifted his head, turned around and looked – perhaps for his family. Finding no one, he put his completed design on the show-off shelf and selected a new challenge to try. More than 20 minutes later, he was still in the same spot, working on another design, this time with a kid at his side.
– Robin, Director of Exhibits
I like to engage adult visitors and give them an invitation to play. A dad and his three girls came into Discovery Studio and I showed them a ball-in-a-cup toy and challenged him to try it. It turned into a family competition, and dad won! I saw them again the next week and he said, “Remember me? I’m the champion!”
– Wendy, Play Guide
A dad does some SERIOUS block building! |
I was in Water Ways and started “seeding” the area with fun surprises. I was inspired to do one of my favorites when I saw a young visitor using a watering can. I set up three waterwheels on top of one another and set a watering can down next to them. When I walked by a few minutes later, a mother was pouring water into the wheels. She noticed me, grinned sheepishly and said, "I am such a kid sometimes." I responded, "Who do you think put it there?" We laughed together, creating a moment of emphasis on ageless fun.
– Meg, AmeriCorps Museum Educator
Children were playing with homemade play dough in Discovery Studio. A dad with two children (daughter about 5 years old and son about 2) sat at the end of the table and started to work with the dough. “Is that a monkey or a dog?” I asked him. “I don’t know yet,” he replied. When I looked back 10 minutes later, he’d created a dinosaur, three ducks, a dog and a cat and had his beautiful creations all lined up!
– Olga, Early Childhood Programs Developer
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