The Children’s Museum of Oswego, New York surely has one of the most kid-friendly acronyms—CMOO—and the museum will soon have a new and larger location.
The new CMOO is coming in Summer 2019 and Chicago Scenic is helping to bring parts of it to life. Working with the design team at Cincinnati based Kraemer Design + Production, we’re tasked with creating two new areas that will be known as the hanging Cloud Climber and the Novelis Aluminum Plant.
The Cloud Climber is a platform structure that children enter on the second floor and can climb up or down to be suspended above the first floor. The “cloud” hangs over a water table on the first floor as if it is providing the rain for the interactive below. A tube and blower system, representing wind, moves colorful scarves up and around the “cloud”.
The Novelis Aluminum Plant features several STEAM interactives, where children learn about the process of recycling and shaping aluminum. At the Pin Wall visitors can create detailed representations from a selection of available stamps. CMOO guests walk and dance triggering a motion sensor to create moving bubbles at the Molten Aluminum exhibit, as the walls glow blue. The more guests move and dance, the more bubbles and light is created.
Kids can also visit the material testing section to learn the difference in weights of simulated materials and see how many large blocks of aluminum it takes to weigh the same as one small block of brass. CMOO kiddos can also learn how aluminum goes through a pressing process by dressing up as aluminum and walking through foam rollers at Smashing Ingots. At another interactive called the Aluminum Coil interactive, patrons learn how aluminum is processed through graphics and can crank a wheel to make the spinning coil move.
Because CMOO is so full of physical interactives, the project went through several phases of prototyping and testing. Client and designer visits were scheduled throughout the design/build process to ensure a smooth, cohesive, and successful project.
More about CMOO
The Children’s Museum of Oswego seeks to be a year-round place for fun, safe, and educational play. Incorporated in 2013, CMOO was founded by a group of Oswego residents who looked to expand the educational and recreational opportunities available to the children of Oswego County, New York and surrounding communities.
CMOO Credits: Kraemer Design + Production (design); Chicago Scenic Studios, Inc. (project management, fabrication, and installation)
