INTERVIEW | Omaha Children's Museum

By now I think it is no surprise that my family and I are very interested in discovering new interesting venues that we can take our children to and explore. We often take them to museums and venues like the art center or inspiring playgrounds that have been designed with the purpose of having fun, not only physically but also visually stimulating. 


Today I’d like you to tag along and follow me to the heartland of America, Nebraska and a visit to the Omaha Children’s Museum - an organization who provides children with all of the above and more! We sit down and chat with Michelle Chartrand - Director of Advancement and Matt Orand - Chief Operating Officer.

2016 has been quite a special year for OCM as you are celebrating your 40 year anniversary! Tell me how have you celebrated this monumental achievement and how did it all start back in 1976?

Michelle: The museum had quite a humble beginning back in 1976 and started as a traveling community program that operated out of the back of an old station wagon.  It’s pretty incredible to think that 40 years later we are the most visited museum in the state of Nebraska and serve nearly 300,000 people each year!  We’ve got lots going on to highlight our big anniversary including a big celebration on our official birthday June 25 which will include goodie bags, cupcakes and lots of birthday themed programming for guests that day.

We’ll also be doing a throwback to some of our original events including Sundae Sunday on June 26 which where the museum will have a sundae bar set up outside and will have celebrity scoopers on hand to help cap off our birthday weekend.

OCM is such a visually stimulating place for kids and parents to be, you obviously take a lot of care into the interior design of the museum. Who decides on the design of an exhibit like for instance the Imagination Playground, and what key elements goes into the design to make it visually fun and interesting for the kids exploring it?

Matt: The museum has always put a big emphasis on the look and feel of its exhibits and graphics. We strive to make everything bright, exciting and inviting. Although some of the permanent exhibits that were completed in a previous renovation were designed by an exhibit design firm, all of the recent exhibits, graphics and logos are designed by the museum’s in-house team.

That team includes an Art Director, Traveling Exhibits Coordinator, Exhibits and Facility Director and Graphic Designer.

You have both permanent exhibitions and traveling exhibitions at the museum, how do you choose which ones to make permanent?  

Matt: The incredibly large second floor of the museum that houses our temporary exhibits gives us the opportunity come up with a theme that can be delivered in a completely immersive way. We create two temporary exhibits a year and they have quickly become one of the most popular parts of our visitor’s experiences. The permanent exhibits are grouped into three main thematic areas; The Charlie Campbell Science Center, Creative Arts Center and Imagination Playground. With almost 300,000 visitors annually those exhibits see a lot of use. As they become worn, we look for opportunities to replace them with creative new pieces

And I hear new permanent exhibitions is coming up too? Anything for little train enthusiasts perhaps?

Matt: We are proud to have opened Susie’s Station, an interactive train depot named in honor of Susie Landow. The station includes hidden displays, an interactive train engine, a ticket window, a mysterious moving portrait and magnetic railroad map of the United States. Guests can explore these exhibit pieces as they wait to board the museum’s train ride.

Your last exhibition - The Super Powers was very highly attended and loved by both young and old, what are some of OCM’s favourite exhibitions from the past and what can we look forward to coming up next?

Matt: It would be impossible to pick a favorite. The museum has hosted world-class traveling exhibits like Sesame Street: The Body and LEGO Travel Adventures. It’s also created fully immersive exhibits like Itty-Bitty City, Construction Zone: Return of the Bulldozer and our current exhibit Pirates and Mermaids: Adventure to Creature Cove.

Our fall exhibit, Imagination, will celebrate the museum’s 40 year commitment to the power of play by highlighting and recreating some of our most beloved pieces. For visitors that are eager to find out what’s coming further down the road, we can only offer some hints: They can look forward to more prehistoric beasts, talking trees and some totally awesome pizza-loving heroes.

I have seen some sneak peeks at the OCM’s instagram (@omahachildrenmuseum) page of some of the amazing creatures you will have on your Pirates and Mermaids - Voyage to Creature Cove exhibit, what are some of the attractions parents and kids can explore on this swashbuckling adventure 

Matt: Kids can play on a giant “wave” that gets them close to a twenty foot long prehistoric shark named Chompy. Once on board of our forty foot long pirate ship they can scale the masts climb from bow to stern. As they explore the rest of the watery world, they will encounter a giant octopus, an elasmasoaraus, a giant purple ammonite and a mosasaurus. The exhibit also includes live marine life and tons of interactive programs that happen multiple times per day. Visitors will also want to be on the lookout for one of our many mermaids that hold the secrets of the sea!

I love the initiative of the Omaha Children’s Museum Welcome Fund, can you tell us a little bit about it? 

Michelle: Omaha Children’s Museums Welcome Fund program is 100% donor supported and is designed to share the museum experience with families and children who may not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy our programs and exhibits.  This program allows the museum to offer $5 family memberships to low-income families in the Omaha Metro and to date has about 750 families who utilize this opportunity.

Working at the museum must be the best way to stay young! What is the most rewarding thing about working at the OCM?  

Michelle: There are SO many rewarding things about working at OCM.  One of the best parts of the job is seeing the families that walk thru our doors spend time together and watching kids explore our museum as they learn through play.  Each day is so different here at OCM and its fun to be part of a team that creates exciting, educational and most importantly, fun, exhibits and programs for young children and families. 

Matt: Working at the museum we get to share in the excitement and joy that our young visitors experience every time they walk through the doors. The most rewarding part of working here is being able to offer the unparalleled experience of open-ended imaginative play to thousands of children. Plus, we all get paid to play!

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us and letting us peek into the wonderful learning experience that OCM is! A special thank you goes out to Shawn Toovey - the Director of Guest Experience for making this interview possible! 

:: VISIT OMAHA CHILDRENS MUSEUM :: 

EXPLORE | JURASSIC WORLD - the exhibition

One of our favourite hang out places for the whole family must be the Melbourne Museum. We have taken the kids there since they were babies, and there are so much amazing things to explore that you normally can't squeeze it into just one visit. There are always interesting exhibitions on show that mixes education as well as a big dose of fun - and this exhibition is no different. Jurassic World - the exhibition is one action packed adventure. Based on one of the biggest blockbusters in cinema history, the Exhibition immerses audiences of all ages in scenes inspired by the beloved film. Now, the park that was only a promise comes to life… right before your eyes.

Travel to Isla Nublar as a VIP guest and explore Jurassic World. Come face-to-face with a Pachyrhinosaurus; visit The Hammond Creation Lab; stare in wonder at a towering Brachiosaurus; get a rare up-close look at the most vicious dinosaur of them all, Tyrannosaurus rex; and learn all about top-secret projects currently in development.

Inspired by the Hollywood blockbuster Jurassic Park franchise, the exhibition at Melbourne Museum will show a glimpse of what life was like on Earth millions of years ago.

Imagine Exhibitions chief executive Tom Zaller said the exhibition was like a "fairy ride" to the Jurassic period. "You know that moment in the first [Jurassic Park] film when the jeep drove over the hill and the dinosaur is there," he said. "Everybody's seen the dinosaur bones at the museum, the cheap animated dinosaur things, but if you're going to Jurassic World, I'm going to blow your mind." 



Mr Zaller has created a number of major exhibitions from the ground up, including Angry Birds Universe, Titanic The Exhibition, The Human Bodies Exhibition, and Dinosaurs in Motion.
He said it was a challenge to keep the educational value in the exhibition, as well as keeping people interested. "Here the theatre that we've brought together is a fine line between theme park and museum ... I really think we've hit the balance," he said.

"We've struck the chord that is going to satisfy the young mind and the imagination.
"Also, having watched the eight-year-old children and just looking at the microscopes and seeing the bone slices of real dinosaurs — we have a bone you can touch, a 65 million-year-old sauropod femur that's 150 centimetres, you couldn't pick it up."

Created in close collaboration with renowned paleontologist Jack Horner, the Exhibition is infused with interactive educational elements—drawn from the real-world science of dinosaur DNA that allowed Jurassic World to come to life. Visitors of all ages can now learn all about these incredible prehistoric creatures.

This is a great opportunity to take your dinosaur loving kids for a close up experience but bare in mind that younger children might get a bit scared by the moving dinosaurs (but nothing a reassuring hand or a hug can't fix). For us it was a wonderful chance to do something the entire family enjoyed. We are all Jurrasic Park fans in this family and it was cool to get a chance to relive some of the most memorable scenes from the new movie Jurassic World in this exhibition.

To book tickets visit Melbourne Museum's ticket stand here.
For those that can't get enough of the dinosaur experience they are also running a 3D show in their IMAX theatre: Walking with Dinosaurs - Prehistoric Planet. 

If you are interested in finding out more about how all these dinosaurs for the exhibition was made, make a visit to Creature Technology and take a peek behind the scenes and read up on how these amazing creatures were made.

BEHIND THE SCENES - making Jurassic World, the exhibition.

LET'S PLAY | GLOBE by MONSTRUM

A subject close to my heart, is architecture and I especially love all the new great playgrounds with a focus on architecture that is being created all around the world at the moment. In my new catagory LET'S PLAY you will find some of them that I have found and covered on the blog.

Today I want to show you The Globe designed by Danish design studio Monstrum.

“The Globe” is a great playground with the library as the center. The playground is divided into five main play areas, each representing a specific compass direction. Each play area is a story about the specific area. There areas offers different play opportunities, so that users get different play experiences depending on where you choose to play.

The playground contains small fragments and stories about nature, animals, landscapes, geology, culture and much more. The aim is to inspire, arouse children’s and adults’ knowledge desire while creating space and opportunity for play and exercise.

In the design of play areas, the emphasis is on the integration of play opportunities for children with different disabilities. At the same time we have focused on the availability on the playground with level access and a sitting area in the playground equipment.

The five areas are connected with a world tour around the house, which is marked in the floor and with stories and fun fact

Globe is designed by MONSTRUM - a studio that design and produce unique playgrounds with a focus on artistic and architectural quality. They create thematic playgrounds that fascinates and inspires both adults and children. To check out more of their great creative playground please visit their website.

The globe is located at Århus new main library and citizen service center in Denmark. 

ART | Artist Play Series by Toca Boca

If there is one app both myself and the kids love then it's Swedish Toca Boca. Having worked in the games industry myself for over 7 years I have seen my fair share of games and made quite a few as well and I know that at the base of every good game is great characters and game play. Toca Boca definitely has both and have in many ways invented a new way of playing for kids. Also in this day and age it is hard to find apps that doesn't have in-app purchases (I am sure parents out there are tired of getting crazy bills for power up mushrooms?) You can also rest assure that there are no third-party ads. This is simply play for the play sake!

Imagination is high on the agenda and we have downloaded all of their inventive games such as Toca Kitchen, Toca Hair Salon, Toca Builders, Toca Cars, Toca Mini and Toca Nature to only mention a few. I love that they focus on games that is about playing. Forget about times and scores, the goal in these games is to have fun and play. Creation is also a corner stone in the games. You build and create and there are no rules stopping your child from exploring.

Recently they launched a collaboration with artists called ARTIST PLAY SERIES - A new project that invites international artists to celebrate the synergies of play and art by creating tools for play. The result is a series of physical toys that encourage imagination and self-expression with a US-based artist creating the first product, Toca Ink.  The first product in the Artist Play Series, was created in collaboration with renowned Brooklyn-based tattoo artist Virginia Elwood. Inspired by the bold graphics of Toca Boca’s characters, Elwood created six temporary tattoos that feature characters from popular Toca Boca digital toys such as Toca Kitchen Monster and Toca House, allowing kids to imagine what it would be like to have a real tattoo by one of the world’s most skilled tattoo artists.
 
“As a tattoo artist for over 10 years now, I regularly see how tattoos spark kids’ curiosity,” said Virginia Elwood. “Kids always want to touch a tattoo, ask questions about them and even have one drawn on them. Creating the Artist Play Series temporary tattoos was a fun way of making Toca Boca tangible for kids in the real world. I spent a lot of time playing the apps to understand the character’s personalities to transfer them to a temporary tattoo design.” - Virginia Elwood.

We have come to love these characters through all of our time spent with them in the games and the kids were thrilled to be able to get their favourite game characters on their skin. We were also pleased to see that they make their own cool tees as well! Made from 100% organic cotton and also featuring some of their many memorable game characters.

D & M is wearing Toca Boca Tee & Nova Tee.

To find out more about the Toca Boca universe visit them here:

:: TOCA BOCA :: 

Moments | Hays Paddock

D wears: Bastian sweat tee by I Dig Denim / Shoho jeans by I Dig Denim / Shoes by Natives.
M wears: Dress by Cotton on Kids / Sweatshirt by Bobo Choses. 

A fun day in Hay's Paddock. A great playground in Kew East which is normally a bit too far from where we live but every now and then we make the trip over there.  It is such a nice playground with a nice butterfly theme throughout. Our kids always seem to end up in the shady sandpit area and jump on the soft little hills. It is a nice playground because it is quite easy to see your kids from all areas so its nice to let them go and explore on their own.

Central to the playground layout are two huge, open ended timber boardwalks, each with several different entry/exit points along their lengths, including single and double width slides, fireman poles, vertical and diagonal spiral poles, ladders and climbing nets. There are several music exploration equipment. Different sizes of pipes, even old gas containers which makes funny sounds when you lift the top.

If you are in the area it is definitely worth a visit with your little ones! Hope you all had a nice weekend out there.. 

PLAY | Stack And Scare!

How cool are these stack and scare monster blocks by Uncle Goose? Stack and create your own monsters with this 18 piece set.  Featuring scalloped dowels, scales, robotic diodes, monster heads, hands, feet, patterns and much more. Mix and match shapes or combine with other Stack And Scare sets to unleash endless creature combinations!

Comes in 4 different sets and  are sure to keep your little one (and yourself) entertained for hours.

Shop at:

:: INVISIBLE CREATURES ::