Blocks are recognized as one of the most important play materials of childhood and, therefore, we have dedicated an entire area just to building with blocks. This beautiful space offers blocks of all sizes, shapes and colors, providing the raw materials for an amazing array of creative expression. Whether engaged in a sprawling group project or intensely focused on building a solitary structure, children test their skills in size and shape recognition, proportion, balance, symmetry, spatial awareness and patience! No doubt, it’s a place of towering possibilities.

In this creative workshop with exposed 1913 brick walls, visitors find an ever-changing array of hands-on art activities that help them make connections to the real world as well as to other exhibits in the Museum. Under the direction of resident artists who work with schoolchildren and family visitors, activities include large collaborative efforts, 'take-home' activities and multi-step projects such as creating movie animations with sculpted characters and props. The results of the young artists at work are often displayed in the Studio and Hallway as well as throughout the Museum.

Reading together is one of the most important activities a caregiver can do with a child as it nurtures a love of the written word and builds a foundation for literacy and later success in school. This space is more low-key than most - comfy and cozy to encourage children to snuggle in and read a good book. At the same time, books and resources abound for adults looking to learn more about child development, parenting skills and local resources. This loft space also affords a view to exhibit areas in the atrium space.

Building forts, dens, lean-tos and other shelters seems to be a human instinct that is played out again and again during childhood. The exhibit provides a host of raw materials and found items that might represent columns, beams, walls and roofs, all typical elements of the construction industry. Building Big entices the boundless imaginations of children to creatively engineer their own personal forts or contribute to a larger cooperative building project. Alive with interactive play, the area hums with purposeful activity.

Inspired by the whimsical paintings of Carolyn Schmitz, Desert Den features the flora and fauna of Arizona’s ecosystems in a fanciful learning environment. When it comes to lovely desert attire or charming native habitats, inquiring minds want to know!

The Expansive Outdoor Space is accessed through the sliding glass doors of the atrium’s east wall. It provides visitors a natural setting for picnicking, exploring the myriad of life that inhabits the ground we walk on, and a growing collection of exhibits and activities to engage children in outdoor, possibly messy, child-directed play.

Wedged in under the staircase leading from the atrium to the main level, Galaxy Under the Stairs carves out a unique visual and tactile experience for children of all ages. Where you would least expect it, visitors encounter a myriad of colored lights in a galaxy of infinite reflections.

Children love messy play and this area gives them free reign to explore and discover with a variety of materials on large-scale temporary projects. Everybody working together in a big, cooperative effort takes the emphasis off the finished product and, instead, celebrates the process. Paint, mud, paper mache – get down and get dirty!

The Hall of Imagination connects the upper level exhibits in a way that integrates the themes of community experience and sparks the imagination. Climb into a real postal jeep and deliver the afternoon mail. Colorful and lively, there is plentiful seating here and an ambience that encourages lots of spontaneous conversation among visitors.

A trip to the grocery store becomes a delight as children make real choices about what products to put in the cart. Opportunities for role play abound as children restock the shelves, ring up the items as cashier, or fill the shopping cart as customer. Store manager can announce “clean up in aisle 3” from an office loft overlooking the entire market. Much like real life, the market experience exercises the child’s physical, cognitive and social skills.

Oodles of noodles suspended from above offer sensory immersion in a unique and engaging environment. A thick forest of textural delight awaits visitors as they navigate this unfamiliar yet stimulating terrain. The Noodle Forest is guaranteed to activate the senses and inspire the giggles.

Pedal Power is a long, narrow space perfect for riding tricycles – and that is just what young visitors can do here.

Pit Stop is like an industrial art studio where a donated Alfa Romeo sports car is the centerpiece. A real motorcycle provides another means of “transportation” or just a cool spot to sit and watch wooden racecars zoom by overhead. Stations for building racecars invite children to experiment with size, shape and weight and how they affect speed. Of course, anything can happen and the car might be transformed into a rocket ship or a time machine at any moment.

This gallery is for the youngest children with many components designed to meet the particular developmental needs of infants and toddlers. Crawling under a tree, watching planes from the deck, exploring with the senses, engaging in simple role play, this area is a visual delight for child and parent alike. It provides a warm and welcoming space for caregivers to spend time enjoying and learning about their little ones in the essential company of other grown-ups.

A collection of exhibit pieces that introduce children to the playfulness of color in different mediums are scattered throughout the main level of the museum.

In the lively, child-sized Café, customers of all ages order up food for the imagination. First, choose your role: Maitre d’, chef, or maybe ‘regular’ customer. Then, use an amazing array of fabrics and materials to create the meal of your dreams. Whether choosing green velvet for a spinach salad or scraps of silk for spaghetti, children actively engage all of their senses, garnished with creativity, to delight their customers. Tables and booths, counters and stools, cash register, and a full-service kitchen with ovens, stoves, storage and utensils provide the framework for culinary escapades. Enjoy!

The Climber towers above the Atrium floor offering a bird’s eye view of the bustling activity below. Created from standard building materials, found objects, items out of context and a little inspiration from some wacky imaginations, the climbing adventure is guaranteed to stretch the muscles, provide a perceived feeling of risk and challenge all to climb to new heights.

Balls, balls and more balls – rolling, dropping, triggering, bumping – flashes of movement and a myriad of sounds fill this action packed room. The science of chain reactions comes to life on a grand scale as ramps encircle the room with stations to set up along the balls’ path. Smaller ball runs and exhibits exploring cause and effect combine to make this room a favorite with ball players young and old.

Color Tossing captures the imagination and beckons children to join the intrigue of sound, movement, color, and the power of air. This wonderful contraption is a freestanding jumble of connected tubes where children feed scarves in a rainbow of colors into the transparent, air-powered structure. The colorful scarves shoot up through the pipes at high speeds, to heights of 20’ or more, and are released in a burst of energy from high above. In contrast they gently float down slowly to land on or be caught by children.

Scattered throughout the Museum’s exhibit areas, Windplay is a collection of air cannons used to activate mobiles, ruffle the hair of an unsuspecting visitor, or set a wall of lightweight disks shimmering in movement and light. The power of moving air is a force to be reckoned with under the direction of children young and old.