'Little Builders' exhibit part learning, part fun
On a rainy Tuesday morning, the construction site at Kohl Children's Museum was packed with kids. Toddlers crawled around proudly handing over blocks to their parents. Older children hammered nails and turned screws while others transferred materials from one station to another.
The site was the visiting "Little Builders" exhibit, which runs through Jan. 10. Meant for kids ages 2 to 7, the activity space is designed to help build cognitive and social skills by encouraging cooperation, and test problem-solving skills through experimentation and free play, said Mary Pinon, vice president of programs.
"All the activities they are doing, whether they know it or not, are helping them develop their skills," she said.
Interactive stations exercise different abilities, while teaching the basics of scientific principles. By placing balls in tubes that cause them to shoot up, children learn about aerodynamics and cause and effect. Using tools hones fine-motor skills. Kids learn mental mapping by building paths for a ball to travel through.
Young kids can enjoy building structures out of large soft blocks, then knocking them down, or building block structures along a giant rug made to look like a stretch of road.
Pinon said parents have been just as interested in the construction projects as the kids. But what's struck her the most is the creativity children have shown, gathering items from all over the exhibit and finding unexpected uses for them.
"As adults we think blocks are for building, but kids think that's something to put in a wheelbarrow and ship to another area."
One popular activity seems to be grabbing lots of different toys and loading them on the crank-powered conveyor belt and watching them tumble off into a bucket. As a result, staff members are constantly picking up unused toys and putting them back in their places.
If you're planning on spending a day at the museum, there's plenty more to do beyond construction projects. The front area is set up like a town where children can take on different roles. They can shop or work the checkout counter at a grocery store, take care of dolls in a nursery, construct and race cars in the car-care center and examine stuffed animals in a veterinary office.
The museum also features a more structured permanent construction-themed exhibit where kids work on a half-built house. In a nature exhibit, children solve puzzles to trigger videos of tadpoles turning into frogs or plants blooming, while another area teaches about the properties of music by letting kids pluck strings, beat drums and arrange notes to produce different noises.
Along with the temporary exhibit, there are a few changes in the works for the museum's permanent collection. A train safety exhibit should be running by the end of October, featuring a train engine with crossing guards teaching how to properly cross the tracks.
Another new area, expected to open in November, demonstrates renewable energy. As part of the environmentally friendly focus, the museum has already installed solar panels and a wind turbine to help provide power.
<p class=factboxtext12col><b>"Little Builders"</b></p> <p class=factboxtext12col>Kohl Children's Museum, 2100 Patriot Blvd., Glenview, (847) 832-6600, kohlchildrensmuseum.org</p> <p class=factboxtext12col>Hours: 9:30 a.m. to noon Monday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday</p> <p class=factboxtext12col>Prices: $7.50; $6.50 for seniors</p>