EXPLORING OKLAHOMA WITH CHILDREN
EXHIBITS IN THE CENTRAL GALLERY ENCOURAGE FULL-BODY LEARNING.
TOWERING TAPE TUNNELS ARE CRAFTED WITH ORDINARY PACKING TAPE.
GET HANDS-ON IN INTERACTIVE LABS.
Discovery Lab TULSA Originally known as a museum without walls, Discovery Lab opened a brand new 57,000-square-foot science center adjacent to the award-winning community park The Gathering Place. The museum moved from its previous location at Owen Park, bringing along one of its most iconic features: the “Taj Mahal” of tape tunnels that includes a two-story, 34-foot slide crafted entirely of ordinary packing tape. These towering tunnels “encourage high-energy play to prepare young minds for deeper thinking areas ahead,” explained Dr. Ray Vandiver, the museum’s executive director. Nearby the tape tunnels in the Central Gallery is a vertical maze made of nets and barrels to climb, too! “Our main educational philosophy is that both cognitive and physical learning are connected,” shared Vandiver. “We made sure our museum was a full-body, immersive learning experience.” Another active experience in the museum, Ballapalooza was inspired by the oil and gas history of our state. This collaborative exhibit is filled with simple machines that move balls to a replica of an oil derrick. Once full, the derrick rains its contents (soft foam balls) onto the exhibit floor and the visitors playing. The Energy gallery, Imaginarium, HydroLab and Math and Music areas encourage visitors of all ages to explore, discover and test their knowledge of a variety of scientific principles, Vandiver shared. Explore water and its various states, immerse yourself in four Oklahoma landscapes that respond to your movement, witness the physics of sound and more. Then, pull all that learning together in the hands-on labs! Science Lab offers guided-inquiry projects based on a monthly theme and activity of the day. The Workshop is a makerspace that invites families to use tools and unique materials to solve a presented challenge. For example, families might be charged with creating a piece of clothing out of cardboard. Vandiver adds that there is “no right answer” and creativity is not only encouraged but essential. Little Lab is for kids 4 and under and their parents or caregivers. “Discovery Lab is designed for the entire family with an emphasis on co-play and co-learning,” said Vandiver. “The experience is
intended to be unique, which is why we focus on things you can’t find anywhere else.”
Discovery Lab is open daily, and they offer a sensory-friendly family time on the second Sunday of each month. Admission is $12 for ages 2 and up. Teachers are free with a current school staff ID.
Leonardo’s Children’s Museum ENID TODDLER AREA
Founded by an artist and an astronaut and named after the famous 15th century artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo’s Children’s Museum opened in 1995. That’s when Enid natives Helen Walker Garriott and scientist-astronaut Owen K. Garriot set out to convert an empty warehouse into a world-class children’s museum. “They had a vision to inspire kids with art and science,” said Riley Jantzen, the museum’s director of marketing and public relations. With the help of 12,000 volunteers, one year later, Leonardo’s opened Adventure Quest, an outdoor science playground. The three-story wooden castle includes bridges, slides, swings, mazes, a water table, dinosaur dig and Tot Lot. It is the world’s largest community-built outdoor playground. “Adventure Quest is our biggest and most well-known feature,” said Jantzen. “I have been coming (to Adventure Quest) since it opened and I feel like just last year got [through it all].”
24 METROFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM / MAR-APR 2023
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