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Wonderscope Children's Museum
Museums + Zoos + Art

The Regnier Family Wonderscope Children’s Museum

All the elements created and installed by DI far exceeded our expectations. The response that we’re getting from people

as they walk in and stop and go, 'whoa,' in and of itself, was a return on investment."

Roxane Hill, Executive Director, Wonderscope

For over 30 years, the Regnier Family Wonderscope Children’s Museum has been educating and delighting the children of Kansas City through the power of play. Providing a combination of hands-on learning with imaginative play, Wonderscope’s space integrates the arts, sciences, sports, history, and literature—all tailored for children eight years old and younger. To continue to achieve their mission, the museum made the decision to expand their space. In 2018, they broke ground on a new 35,000-square-foot building located in the Red Bridge Shopping Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

12

Themed spaces

35,000

Square feet of new museum space

 

The new museum features 12 distinct spaces, tied together through the theme of Kansas City and educational programming by Paul Orselli. The largest of these exploratory exhibits (complete with a bus stuck halfway through a wall!) is the WonderClimber, themed as a Kansas-style tornado with a flying cow and boards of siding pulled right off the central house [Partner: Redbox Workshop]. Just outside the WonderClimber, history and present day coexist in the Crossroads of Past and Future, featuring a covered wagon and steam train [Partner: Redbox Workshop]. The H2Oh! Room takes inspiration from Kanas City’s fame as the “City of Fountains” and encourages play through a variety of water tables and interactives [Partner: Boss Displays]. The exploration doesn’t stop inside the walls of Wonderscope, though. The Naturescape extends the play into the outdoors with a treehouse and a variety of sound interactives [Partners: Portico/MIG, DI Build].

Dimensional Innovations was brought on by Wonderscope and Haizlip Studio, the architect and exhibit designer, shortly after the completion of conceptual design phase to work closely with the range of partners in a true “Design Assist” and fabrication role. As the project progressed, DI played a crucial role in ensuring Wonderscope’s vision was achieved while still remaining within their allocated budget. This shoulder-to-shoulder partnership, with DI providing value engineering and input on design decisions, helped maintain quality and kept the project on-track for a timely launch.

Wonderscope opened October 20, 2020, while COVID-19 was still in effect, but that didn’t stop the museum from being an instant hit. Despite only being able to serve a quarter of the number of children they normally would, the museum was met with delighted praise and rave reviews.

 

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Carole Hollman

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 Carole Hollman 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 for storytelling and her love of the non-profit, educational world make her a natural and compassionate leader in this field. Her combined skills and professional experience make her a powerful listener, communicator, client liaison, internal and external group facilitator, conceptual thinker, visionary, and team leader.

Having spent 20+ years in a number of different creative and educational fields, she brings an added design mentality and the benefits of cross-industry experience to any project. She has an extensive background across a wide range of fields, including: Museum and Exhibit Design and Fabrication; Software Design and Development; Healthcare and Healthcare Education/Certification; Professional and Continuing Education; and K-12 Educational Design.

As the project leader, Carole’s main goal is to assemble the best team for each project, set them up for highest success, and let them do what they do best, while staying personally involved at a high level from beginning to end. Notable past projects include: The Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum; Wonderscope Children’s Museum; UNMC McGoogan Library Wigton Heritage Center; Dane G. Hansen Museum; Zoo Knoxville, KidScape at the Johnson County Museum, and the Kansas Museum of History.

 
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Every big opportunity starts with a small step forward. We're here to help you! Let’s jump on the phone, say hello, and discuss your virtual meeting or experience need, in a quick 15-minute FIT call. Prefer email? That's cool, too! Drop us a line - we're always happy to connect.

Get In Touch With Our Experts

Every big opportunity starts with a small step forward. We're here to help you! Let’s jump on the phone, say hello and discuss your need, idea or project in a quick 15-minute FIT call. Prefer email? That's cool, too! Drop us a line - we're always happy to connect.

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