Travels with Amy: Column Puzzles and Adobe House

We decided to do a phased opening, installing the pieces over the course of approximately six months, rather than waiting to allow visitors in until the whole space was finished. This has made things rather interesting, highlighting when the space didn't have enough in it, letting us find problems with some activities, and giving us time to figure out all the operational issues. It's been both challenging and fantastic.

Our first installations were done by our amazing in-house staff and by our contractors. Suddenly, there were things in the space and the activity center was REAL. Tangible is good.

Right up front, as you come up the stairs or out of the elevators, you are greeted by two young Native people, Ross from Florida and Cascade from British Columbia. We were lucky to work with two fabulous families, and these column puzzles, designed and built in-house, are just amazing.

These are the prototypes. Yes, Star Wars as funny bird figures. Excellent!

And the real thing.

One section deals with transportation, and the ways that Native peoples have used materials from their environments to find solutions to life's needs, often being innovative and inventive along the way. This snowshoes activity is actually very cool, with lots of math and science, and a very practical demonstration. Our contractors did this one.

These are some of the seats in the space. Fun, modern, colorful, they are also easy to move around to suit families and parents.

The subcontractors did the frames for both the adobe house and the stilt house. We still have to put in the ladder and the pottery, as well as all the graphics panels, but here's how the frame transformed over just a couple of days. We would have loved a climbing structure, but once you meet all the OSHA regulations, it no longer would look like an adobe house, so maybe someday.