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.