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Flint Hills Discovery Center
“
This space tells the story of the Flint Hills and makes it something
that kids can really embrace.
Stephen Bridenstine, Assistant Director, Development
The Flint Hills Discovery Center aims to inspire visitors of all ages to protect and celebrate one of the largest remaining tallgrass prairies on earth. Looking to transform the second-floor mezzanine children’s area, Discovery Center stakeholders called upon DI and partners McCownGordon Construction, BBN Architects and Paul Orselli Workshops to create Prairie Playscape - an exciting, hands-on educational experience designed for the littlest of learners. Since opening, Prairie Playscape has been granted the Award of Honor from the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Kansas.
Prairie Playscape features three themed areas: Exploring the Land, Working the Land, and Sharing the Land. Each designated area invites children to learn through play while discovering more about the Flint Hills’ unique and resourceful landscape.
Exploring the Land
Visitors can get an up-close look at the (real-life) animals, plants and layered surfaces throughout the rolling Flint Hills. To give a true sense of the prairie ground itself, DI created a textured tunnel children can crawl through to see and feel the hills from within. Drawers holding fossils, antlers, jaw bones, preserved flowers and more are there to illustrate the rich history and long-standing animal population of the prairie.
DI created a wind tunnel activation demonstrating the impact and power of the terrain’s gusty winds. Visitors can insert a ball or piece of fabric to see how quickly pollen and seeds are dispersed throughout the Flint Hills.
Working the Land
Learn how humans interact with the prairie and the wildlife within it. DI created a digital interactive to complement the center’s custom mural. A touchscreen monitor replicates the mural with additional illustrations of plants, animals and unique events, such as wildfires, which visitors can click on to learn more. Standing binocular sets accompany the touchscreen, inviting visitors to see like a hawk and a grasshopper through magnified or kaleidoscope-colored lenses.
Using Natural Resources
The stone stacking wall is an interactive display showcasing one of the many ways farmers utilize rocks throughout the Flint Hills. Kids can build a stone wall of their own using faux magnetic rocks.
Life on the Prairie
Visitors can experience what it's like to be a cowboy on the prairie by exploring display cases of both antique and modern day ranch tools. Kids are invited to try on hats, chaps and vests to get a real feel for the job and can even digitally roam the Flint Hills on a horseback saddle.
Sharing the Land
Kids can learn more about one of the most famous exports of the prairie – cattle. Interactive puzzles and lifesize visual comparisons showcase how fast cows grow, what they eat (and how much), and the endless, multipurpose resources they offer.
Arguably the most memorable interactive inside the playscape is the Cattle Digestive System, which demonstrates the lifecycle and importance of a cow’s leafy lunch. Visitors can turn the crank to raise the ball up into the cow’s mouth, down its throat and into its four-chamber stomach – all accompanied by sounds of chewing and other digestive audio. After successfully swiveling the ball into each chamber, visitors can squeeze it through the intestines, leaving the cow’s backside with a flatulent exit.
Prairie Playscape is a colorful and educational exhibition designed for children to explore the prairie’s unique ecosystem through fun, hands-on activities.
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Carole Hollman
Practice Director - Cultural
With over 13 years of experience in the museum design/build world, Carole has successfully led and facilitated large-scale exhibit and interpretive projects of national importance around the country for over a decade. Carole’s passion... more about Carole Hollman
