Kohl Children's Museum

Purpose: Supporting Lifelong Learning Four integrated exhibits designed for a new facility at Kohl children's Museum of Greater Chicago aim to plant the seeds of environmental awareness and scientific exploration and discovery in young children. Nature Explorers, scheduled to open in October 2005, integrates indoor and outdoor exhibit space around activities specifically geared to very young children. In addition to educating children, the activities in the Nature Explorers exhibits will encourage parents and caregivers to become environmentally literate as they interact with children to interpret exhibit information. Nature Explorers will feature an indoor nature area of 1,600 square feet with two exhibits-the Big Backyard and Fantasy Forest-that eventually will be connected to and integrated with a large, landscaped outdoor exploration environment of 1.28 acres. In addition to exhibit design and fabrication, the museum will develop four field trip programs for school children that are specifically related to Nature Explorers. Topics of the field trips will be how animals adapt to their environment through physical and behavioral changes; how children can reduce, reuse, and recycle waste; animal homes and habitat; and how sun, water, and wind act as energy sources.