A Note from the Curator of Education

KidScape, our 3,500 square foot interactive exhibit, is my favorite place in the museum. On a daily basis it is quite literally filled with joy. I love to see the unique ways that kids of different ages engage with the environments and the (often hilarious) adaptations they make during their play. This sort of unstructured play is a great way for children to explore, learn, interact with caregivers and other children, and gain confidence as they find new ways to interact with the materials in each area.

As you likely know, KidScape has been the focus of much of our pandemic response. The procedures we put in place, although challenging for patrons and staff, have allowed us to keep this beloved resource open throughout the past two years. These procedures included: pre-registration, limited capacity, addition of a mid-day cleaning, more rigorous end of day cleaning, frequent sanitizing of high-touch surfaces, and removing hard-to-clean items.

The time has come to end several of these protocols, namely preregistration and limited capacity. As of May 1, 2022, we will no longer be taking any pre-registrations for KidScape online or by phone. Please note that we will continue to monitor capacity to ensure we do not exceed fire code. So during busier times you might occasionally arrive to find that KidScape is full. When we do reach capacity, museum staff and volunteers will conduct hourly counts so that we can accommodate additional people in the space.

To many these changes will come as a welcome change. But to some of our patrons I understand that this change might affect the quality of your experience in KidScape. Moving away from capacity restrictions means that KidScape will be busier (and probably louder) during your visits. We have a couple tips for those families who might like to avoid the busier times.

• Come in the afternoon! Afternoons are consistently less busy than mornings. And your little ones will have so much fun they might even be able to skip that nap.
• Call ahead! Although we cannot take pre-registrations, we can let you know how busy KidScape is before you make the trip.
• Check the weather! Weather is the biggest indicator of our business in KidScape; rainy = busy, sunny = a low-key visit with only a few other families.

There are a few changes that will keep for the foreseeable future, namely more frequent and thorough cleaning protocols. The health and safety of the children who visit is our top priority. As a mom of a preschooler I understand that a hands-on space can be anxiety inducing, especially during flu season. So we will continue to sanitize twice a day. That means we will perform a quick clean and reset from 12:00 to 12:30 daily. Families are welcome to browse the main galleries, and/or have a snack upstairs in the Commons while we clean, then return to KidScape for more fun.

I hope that these changes will allow even more young explorers to enjoy all that KidScape has to offer. And on that note, we have some exciting changes coming to KidScape later this year… I hope you can come back and see what we have in the works!

Sincerely,

Leah Palmer

Curator of Education