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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.
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.
Learn more about Children's Educational Spaces, Environmental Design, Hands-On Interactives, and Interactive Kid Zones.
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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
Paul Martin
Director of Transit and Advanced Manufacturing
Brought onboard to Dimensional Innovations in 2020, Paul has over 20 years of experience developing and executing some of the world’s most challenging architectural cladding projects. He specializes in working directly with design,... more about Paul Martin
