Exciting New Exhibits
Get ready for three floors of hands-on fun, imagination, and discovery! Our exciting new museum will feature interactive exhibits designed for children ages 0–14 and their families, with something to spark curiosity at every age and stage. From engineering challenges and tech-powered art to creative play spaces and sensory exploration, each level is packed with opportunities to learn through play. Plus, don’t miss our outdoor sensory courtyard—a vibrant space for water play, music, gardens, and more! Step inside and explore what’s in store for our biggest adventure yet.
Airways Gallery
Feel the power of air and wind come to life! Visitors will dive into the world of wind energy through hands-on exhibits that range from high-flying tabletop experiments to full-body wind tunnels. Whether you're spinning turbines, channeling airflow, or launching objects with the force of air, these experiences make the invisible unforgettable—turning moving air into an epic adventure in science and discovery!
Our Village
Welcome to Our Village- where imagination meets adventure in a whimsical world inspired by the charm of traditional German architecture that can be seen in downtown Batesville and surrounding communities! This immersive dramatic play exhibit invites children and families to explore the sights, sounds, and stories of a small and playful village.
Nature Works
This outdoor play space invites children to engage all their senses in a natural, hands-on environment. Kids can dig and pour in the sand and water play zones, explore textures and colors in vibrant garden beds, and make joyful noises with oversized outdoor musical instruments. Designed to inspire curiosity, creativity, and calm, this space offers endless opportunities for discovery through touch, sound, movement, and play.
Assembly Station
Get ready to build, design, and discover—together! Children and families will team up to explore how materials and shapes come to life through hands-on building adventures. From tabletop creations to giant, immersive structures, visitors will dive into the world of architecture, sculpture, and design. As they stack, shape, and connect, they’ll uncover the secrets of structure, scale, proportion, and 3D geometry—all while unleashing their creativity and working as a team!
Design & Innovation Studio
The studio provides a variety of opportunities for visitors to discover new ways to explore design thinking, problem-solving, technology, and creative skill sets. The studio provides hands-on experience with additive manufacturing, robotics, coding, engineering and science learning modules and will be a major programming space for school visits, camps, and classes.
Smithsonian Spark!Lab
The Smithsonian Spark!Lab experience is an invention hub where visitors can sketch, create, try, tweak, and sell their invention idea. Stocked with a wide range of tools and materials, the invention hub provides the platform for visitors to work through the invention process from start to finish.
Art Studio
Our vibrant Art Studio is a flexible, hands-on space designed to spark imagination and creativity in every child. By day, it transforms into a dynamic classroom for workshops, field trips, and open-ended art exploration. On weekends, it becomes a colorful celebration space—perfect for birthday parties filled with painting, crafting, and creative fun. Whether learning, making, or celebrating, this studio is where inspiration takes shape!
Tech Play
In this high-tech play exhibit, creativity and innovation collide! Visitors can design digital masterpieces that spring to life on a giant interactive screen, turning their artwork into vibrant, animated displays. Then, they’ll dig into discovery with an augmented reality sandbox, where shifting sand reveals mountains, valleys, and rivers—teaching geography and topography through hands-on play. It’s a space where art, science, and technology come alive!
The Factory Floor
Step onto the Factory Floor and discover how simple machines power big ideas! In this interactive exhibit, visitors will explore gears, levers, pulleys, and more to see how everyday factory work gets done. At the heart of the experience is the Gizmotron—a jaw-dropping, hands-on "wow" exhibit where guests work together to move materials across the factory using pulleys, conveyor belts, and an Archimedes screw. It’s teamwork, engineering, and pure fun in motion!
Ball Factory
In this action-packed ramp exhibit, visitors will explore the power of gravity and motion through hands-on play. Design your own ball roller coaster, experiment with ramp angles, and race your ball down a giant slide to test speed and distance. Discover how physics makes things move—just like the clever low-tech machines used in real factory floors. It’s a thrilling way to learn how ramps, momentum, and gravity work together to get the job done!
Light Studio
Step into a dazzling world where light is your paintbrush! In this immersive exhibit, visitors of all ages will explore the magic of light as an artistic and scientific medium. Create glowing masterpieces, experiment with color mixing, and manipulate beams, shadows, and reflections. From glowing walls to interactive light sculptures, this studio invites you to see—and shape—light like never before. It’s hands-on, radiant, and unforgettable!