Handle With Care presented by The Ron and Lydia Harrington Family Foundation
Opening September 30
Changes are coming to the second floor of Great Lakes Science Center as work begins on a new permanent early childhood exhibit designed especially for kids ages 8 and younger.
Slated to open on September 30, 2025, the immersive 2,000-square-foot Handle With Care early childhood exhibit is designed to support early experiences with empathy and engineering for the Science Center’s youngest guests.
The new exhibit will replace the museum’s existing early childhood exhibit, the Polymer Funhouse, which was most recently updated in 2020, and opened with the museum in 1996. Polymer Funhouse will close to the public on August 18 as part of the renovations across the second floor of the museum.
“This exhibit was designed with expertise on opportunities for young learners to experience engineering principles, as well as studies on the importance of developing empathy skills for our youngest learners,” said Science Center President & CEO Kirsten Ellenbogen. “The result is a space where young children and their caregivers will explore a playful learning space that emphasizes the importance of helping others, and the opportunities to do that with science, technology, engineering, and math.”
The new gallery will incorporate STEM learning and fundamental engineering principles while fostering empathy and creativity through imaginative play. As guests enter Handle With Care, they will have the opportunity to create a personalized care package for a loved one. After assembling their care package, guests can head over to the warehouse and distribution area where they can explore a three-tiered climbing structure, sit in the driver’s seat of a scale model forklift, and manipulate their package through a 10-foot-tall pulley and conveyor belt system. Finally, guests can deliver their care package to an imaginative play neighborhood complete with houses, apartments and a package delivery truck. The Science Center’s littlest visitors will particularly enjoy the small park area that is designed for infants.
Handle With Care is one of the projects made possible by the Science Center’s ongoing Force For Tomorrow campaign, which aims to raise $25 million for revitalizing exhibits, expanding transformative programs and growing the museum’s endowment. Leading the effort on Handle With Care is a gift from the Ron and Lydia Harrington Family Foundation with additional support from the Reinberger Foundation, PNC Foundation, Carol A. Barnak, the Nancy Andrews Foundation, the Joan. P Wenk Charitable Foundation, Zest Pediatrics, the Stocker Foundation and Medical Mutual.
Work on the second floor will also include improvements to the current Science Phenomena Gallery.
The area where Polymer Funhouse is now located will become the Science Center’s new water technology exhibit, which is slated to open in 2027.
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