Children at Play Inc.

Shipwreck:

  Visitors will have an opportunity to discover a sunken ship off the coast in the Graveyard of the Atlantic.     This exhibit will directly correlate to the lighthouse exhibit and exemplify the necessity of those beacons of light on our coast.  Children can climb crawl and swing amongst the exhibit space as well as meet the creatures who have made these vessels their home.  An unintended consequence of these wrecks is to provide a home for a variety of sea creature and a place for scuba divers and snorkelers exploring the treasure trove of sea life as well as gold.  Environmental stewardship will be an essential component of this exhibit highlighting the natural resources.  The most compelling aspect of this exhibit will be the immersive environment of the ship wreck and the ability for the visitors to dive into another world.

    Snorkel masks and oxygen tank vests would be available for dress – up

    Treasures would be hidden throughout the wreck with hints of what to look for.  Children would “swim” around the wreck looking for the hidden treasures

 Plane:

The front of the plane would protrude from the wall with a cockpit for two “drivers”

      Cockpit will include a switchboard with buttons, levers and toggles to push and manipulate with lights that light up as well

      A history of flight diorama would hang over the plane, painted on the wall showing the evolution of planes, ending in the plane children “fly”

      Aviator sunglasses, pilot hats and shirts will be available for dress up

Lighthouse:

The lighthouse exhibit allows children to begin to understand the connection between sea and land and the unique geography of our coast.  They will discover and identify a historic career and lifestyle that was an inherent aspect of the past and a precursor to the US Coast Guard of today.  Children can try on lifesaving uniforms slide down the slide look out into the water, and spin the light utilizing fine and gross motor skills.  There are opportunities for further learning with older children focusing on the fresnel lens ability to take a dim source of light and refract it into an intense beam.  Older children can also think about how captains and navigators utilized this beacon of light in order to keep their ship safe.  For our smallest visitors they will have a safe opportunity to explore a lighthouse they might otherwise skip because of structural inadequacy of the present lighthouses or not wanting to take young children who might be unable to walk the flight of stairs.

 Sea Turtles:

 Circle of Life  - a  diagram painted on the wall of the cyclical life of a sea turtle, showing the turtle going from boiling out of a sand nest to swimming back to it’s place of birth to lay it’s own eggs.

   Peg Board maze attached to the wall underneath the diagram with baby sea turtles pegs, starting in their nest and “swimming” their way across the beach to reach the ocean, obstacles such as seagulls, crabs etc,.in the way. 

      Stuffed animal turtles and eggs etc. to act out the birth to water scenario

Turtle books – books appropriate for different ages starting at 0 to 7 that teach children about sea turtles.