Great Exhibits

A great place to start is in the western style “Kids Bank” including a teller’s window, play money, phones and an old fashioned typewriter. Adjacent to the bank is the role playing Theater. Musical instruments, to accompany any production, are close by to drum, shake, rattle and ring. Backstage hosts an array of dragon, bunny, firefighter, pilot and ballerina costumes. Meandering through additional rooms visitors discover the brightly painted Castle Room. Throne and courtyard included, this popular room is available for birthday parties. The courtyard will soon offer supplies and instructions for many artistic creations. Another popular feature is the Shadow Room dubbed “the room full of giggle”. Here one finds a darkened room where photosensitive paper on walls combined with a strobe light capture wiggling, posing and jumping movement.

Eager to involve children in” real-life” learning, an Emergency Services Exhibit is now OPEN! Included are a 911 console simulator, kids-sized fire truck, brass sliding pole and miniature ambulance. Local fire, ambulance, sheriff and victim services presentations will be available with interactive elements and scenarios to encourage opportunities towards developing confident answers to emergency situations

Complimenting the Emergency Services Exhibit is a
Teddy Bear Hospital located in another area of the museum where children can dress in scrubs, medical coats and hospital pajamas. In the clinic there are X-rays to study, crutches to lean on and stethoscopes to hear the beating of Teddy Bear hearts. Slides can be viewed using the unique “Wentz-Scope” and anatomy puzzles can be assembled as well.

The arrangement of exhibits facilitates easy access to smaller exhibits like the Gravity Wall, Bernoulli Blower, Sand Pendulum and Plasma Ball. All offer eager participants the opportunity to experiment with the principles of science, flight and gravity. At the Gravity Wall, participants are encouraged to insert colored plastic cards into angled slots designing a route for balls of varying size and weight. The Plasma Ball and Disk teach the properties of electrical current. Touching the glass ball or disk, the electrical field enclosed in gas, follows the “touch” movement, sparking only curiosity and sensory understanding. Children will also have fun at the museum’s computer, which has access to the Internet (protected by Cyber Patrol) and has a computer painting program.

One of the original and most popular exhibits is the
Paul Beard Natural History area. Children “dig” in the 3 foot high sandbox to discover, dust and identify bones. Retired school teacher, Paul Beard’s generous collection of butterflies, fossils and rocks are available with adult assistance to identify, touch and hold. Also included in this exibit is a taxidermied collection of local creatures on permanent loan from the CSU, Fresno.