Creative Discovery Museum announced its next renovated and expanded exhibit as part of the Ignite Discovery capital campaign, Little FarmHouse. Little FarmHouse, opened to the public on Saturday, is an immersive gallery where children 5 and under and their caregivers can play and explore life on the farm.
From the Atrium, visitors are welcomed by the yellow farmhouse. Step into the farmhouse kitchen, where little chefs can cook up a pretend meal on the stovetop or in the oven while building their pre-literacy skills using a recipe. There are buttons to push, knobs to turn, and herbs to smell - so many opportunities to learn new words, practice expressive and receptive language, and cooperate by taking turns through play. In the nursery, children can practice bedtime routines with baby dolls. Attached to the yellow farmhouse is the garage with a truck, tool chest, and workbench. Little tinkerers will build fine motor skills, practice problem-solving, and use math talk while playing.
The barn is full of sights, sounds, smells, and textures to be discovered. The youngest guests will enjoy the barn climber, and little helpers can pretend to milk a cow, collect eggs, and care for rabbits and hens. A farm needs special equipment, so visitors can maintain a replica tractor by changing the spark plugs and oil, as well as move the shifters and steering. Through play, children will learn how a farm works while growing their motor, cognitive, social-emotional, and language skills.
In the garden, visitors will water plants and collect fruits and veggies, then use the containers, wheelbarrows, and garden tools to transport the harvest to the market stand to sell or the house to eat. At the farmer’s market, guests can weigh fruits and vegetables and make pretend purchases at the cash register. Growing minds will connect the farm to the market and to home, learning where food comes from.
The meadow is the perfect soft space for non-walkers. Guests can stow your shoes, scale the climber and crawl through the log in this safe area to explore different sights, sounds and textures. The cause-and-effect activities awaiting non-walkers and caregivers in the meadow will grow social-emotional and cognitive skills, but most of all, promote play.
This new area of CDM also includes Jayne’s Little Explorer’s Classroom. CDM’s PlayGym classes for young children and their caregivers and Little Explorers classes for toddlers meet in this specially designed room for early childhood programming. The space is named in honor of Jayne Griffin, longtime Vice President of Education for the Museum, and advocate for developmentally appropriate Early Childhood education.
This exhibit is generously funded by The McKee Family, The Brock Family, The Institute of Museum and Library Services*, and Dairy Alliance. To learn more about the Ignite Discovery capital campaign and the comprehensive renovations taking place at CDM, visit ignitecdm.com.