By Chip Chandler — Digital Content Producer
Familiar connecting blocks will — brick by brick — tell the story of travel in a new exhibition opening Saturday at Don Harrington Discovery Center.
Travel Adventure opens to the public Saturday following a 7 p.m. Friday opening reception and preview for DHDC members. It will be on view through Jan. 9 at the center, 1200 Streit Drive.
A traveling exhibition from The Children's Museum in Indianapolis, Travel Adventure features a variety of hands-on activities for children of all ages.
The "What Will You Build?" area, designed for ages 2 to 5, will encourage kids to build and race cars.
The "Where Will You Go?" area features costume bins and an "adventure vehicle" offering immersive play via looped video of real-world terrain.
The "What Will You Build?" area, designed for ages 6 and older, features build tables, "terrain test table" with various surfaces and a photo booth.
And the "How Will You Get There?" area showcases brick vehicles against a variety of travel backdrops and displays charting important moments in the histoyr of travel.
Children can also play in the Adventure Challenge Area, featuring a custom-built diorama and computer game.
The exhibition first opened in Indianapolis in 2012 in partnership with Lego. Naming rights have since expired, but the exhibition still features the familiar bricks.
"We want children to use their imagination in building things ... but it's also a great way to learn about travel, from the Wright Brothers and Henry Ford ... to the space shuttle," said Aaron Pan, DHDC executive director.
Center hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and noon to 4:30 p.m. Sundays. The center is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Easter, but is open Mondays during AISD school holidays and summer break.
Admission is $11 for adults; $8 for military, seniors and children ages 3 to 12 and students to age 22; and free for ages 2 and younger. Group rates are available for 15 or more.
Call 806-355-9547.
Chip Chandler is a digital content producer for Panhandle PBS. He can be contacted at Chip.Chandler@actx.edu, at @chipchandler1 on Twitter and on Facebook.
