Although these lines on the wall look like simple writings of an ancient culture, or tally marks for how many weeks we feel like we’ve been working on the new Discovery Zone so far, they do actually signify progress for us!

Aside from the usual work that needs to be done to ceilings, walls, floors, doors, and … well, everything in the room, we’ve been reviewing the shop drawings for the exhibit with the excellent studio in Orlando that is building the core structure elements of the Discovery Zone. Many of the large structure features are being built off-site and will be assembled in the exhibit space.

We’ve also been meeting with the media developers who are masterminding the digital interactives for the new exhibit. We have quite a few digital media features planned, including a digital drawing station, touchscreen controllers for several exploration locations, and some fabulous video displays inset into the learning centers.

Some days it seems like we’re watching paint dry (we really do!), and some days we’re watching a concept illustration come to life right in front of us. Our fabrication team is working full-speed-ahead, while our exhibit planning teem is juggling the blossoming Discovery Zone with existing exhibits, traveling exhibits, and planning future exhibit maintenance and upgrades.

It’s never boring around here! We’re even excited about these walls. As part of the new Discovery Zone area, we’re including a family restroom, which has an adult and a toddler potty. It took an incredible amount of work to run the plumbing deep into the heart of the museum building, but we feel it will be worth it. Now with the walls up and the paint selected, we can finalize tiles and fixtures next.  This new exhibit will be inspirational and education, AND convenient for families.