The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is getting ready to reveal the TCU Children’s Gallery to the public on March 7.
When the current building opened in 2009, the area was a child-sized grocery store with a miniature hospital area. Now, there are many options that inspire children’s imaginations.
“I used to bring my kids to the original children’s museum,” said a long-time museum membership holder. “Now it’s like a full circle moment because I can bring my grandchildren to the new exhibit once it opens.”
The revamped space boosts child-sized exhibits of long-time Fort Worth institutions and landmarks. The learning environments include a nod to TCU’s campus, a performance space meant to capture the spirit of Ridglea Theater, a homestead farmland where crops grow and are sold in the market, a transportation hub based on the Fort Worth Central Station, complete with a train schedule and a medical area that was developed with help from Cook Children’s Hospital.
The TCU mural wall that highlights campus landmarks. (photo courtesy of Cowtown Paparazzi Photography)
Along with the name of the space, the purple accents throughout the gallery point to the connection TCU has in the Fort Worth community.
“We knew from the beginning that we wanted to partner with TCU for this reimagined gallery,” said Abigail Hofbauer, the director of exhibits at the FWMSH. “Many of our visitors grew up with TCU, so we wanted to incorporate that aspect for sure.”
Staff members, many of whom are TCU alumni, expressed interest in hosting future TCU-specific events within the gallery.
Beyond TCU, the museum partnered with other Fort Worth institutions to give visitors a captivating experience. From the transformed Fort Worth Central Station, where the beloved train tables from the previous exhibit made a reappearance, to the Ridglea Theater, where children can perform a play about an evil chicken and a princess, each area promotes creativity.
TCU Children’s Gallery theater designed to resemble Ridglea Theatre. (Laney Davis/TCU 360)
The museum also partnered with Cook Children’s to build a medical-themed area that introduces kids to X-rays and MRIs, helping make visits to the doctor’s office less intimidating.
In the center of the gallery is what the staff refer to as the “celestial core” or more commonly, the spaceship, where bubble tubes draw attention for all ages, Hofbauer said. The interactive spaceship involves everyone around—children and adults can play the interactive game, watch the disco balls dance, or feel the vibration of the seats as the spaceship “takes off.”
“There is a pocket for each type of learner,” said Taylor Pels-Hernandez, the marketing coordinator at FWMSH. “We have a different spot for all different interest levels.”
The shadow puppet area where kids can tell simple stories. (Laney Davis/TCU 360)
Whether it’s the bright lights of the theater or the simple shadow puppets in the homestead area, children can experience all of the elements that define Fort Worth.
“The way the murals are designed, you get to spend a full day in Fort Worth,” said Hofbauer. “From sunrise to daytime to sunset.”
The grand opening of the TCU Children’s Gallery is set for March 7 at 10 a.m. There will be an all-day member-only preview on March 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Beginning March 10, early member hours will be held Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.