Brookings (11-13-26) — A brand new play experience is opening on the second floor of the Children’s Museum of South Dakota.
Makeway: Where Ideas Move invites children to imagine, build, test, and discover how things move through hands-on, open-ended play. The grand opening is set for Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 4-7 pm.
The exhibit offers connected play experiences where children can explore ways to move from here to there, experiment with their ideas, and create connections between people and places.
“Makeway celebrates the process of creating — not just the finished product.” said Deputy Director Arian Bunde. “With an abundance of loose parts and opportunities to build, test, and experiment, children can bring their ideas to life, discover what works (and what doesn’t!), and try something entirely new.”
The exhibit features large ramps and a large magnetic wall where children can send balls and cars rolling, or they can create a community filled with roads, bridges, and places to explore.
Materials such as whiteboards and markers, flexible roads, and tubes, and other loose parts such as ribbons, clips, tape, and dowels allow children to create their own experiments.
“There’s no one right way to create, and that’s where some of the most meaningful learning happens,” said Bunde. “At the children’s museum our role is to create environments that spark curiosity and invite exploration. Makeway is a wonderful example of that philosophy coming to life.”
Two soft opens in preparation for the exhibit opening have taken place with the Kidoodle Council Youth Advisory Board and Maker Studio students.
Kidoodle Council Member Thad Ochsner described the exhibit in three words: “Fun, colorful, and imaginative.”
But fellow Kidoodle Council Member Micah Moore had a different response. He said, “That would probably almost be impossible because there’s so much fun stuff in this exhibit!”
Following the grand opening, the exhibit will be available during regular museum hours. More information on hours and admission are available at prairieplay.org.
— From the Children’s Museum of South Dakota
