Toddler Town is open.

Posted on by Thor

The Orlando Science Center (777 East Princeton Street Orlando FL 32803) invested about five million dollars in building a New Kids Town. There are five or six main play areas along with Toddler Town. This half moon shaped play area is set up so moms and dads can sit on the cushy retaining wall and was their toddlers at play. Kids can assemble floor puzzle pieces, crawl through house shaped foam tunnels, and crawl in side a foam sewer drain pipe.The most used toy was an abacus shaped wire roller coaster with colored beads.

Other isolated stations had windows into a Styrofoam snowstorm and a two way window which could fog over. All day there are bursts of energy as kids explore and discover for the first time. This is also the perfect place for parents to rest amidst the playground madness. Circular mobiles mirror the floating circles on the walls, and shadow patterns on the floor add to the circular theme.

Drip Drop Splash at the Orlando Science Center.

Posted on by Thor

I went in to sketch the new Kids Town as it was being constructed once a week this past October. Drip Drop Splash has three illuminated water columns with hand cranks. When the cranks are turned by kids the water rises up and trickles down a series of blue kite shaped shingles. The water empties into a clear bowl and then rains down into a round pool below. It is possible to crawl under this pool reception and stand up in a donuts hole opening in the middle. Standing the r it is possible to be surounded by rain, yet remain perfectly dry.

Water cascade down from this center pool down three ramps which each have a maze of mind bending inventions. Kids can plumb and divert the water or build a series of dams. Each Rube Goldberg contraption teaches the kids how to harness and use the power of water.

At this point in the construction plumbing was still being worked out. Workers joked with each other calling each other “Cuz”. Walls were being painted and things fell together quickly. Kids Town is now open at the Orlando Science Center (777 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803) and trust me, the kids love it.

Climb Time Construction

Posted on by Thor

I returned to the Orlando Science Center, (777 East Princeton Street Orlando Fl 32803) to sketch the continuing construction on the Climb Time area of the New Kids Town. I was amazed at how much the structure had progressed in just one week. I was committed to doing one sketch a week, but felt that a sketch a day would have been needed to get a full time lapse effect of the constructions evolution.

The hard hat was still needed since there was overhead wall work and construction still going on. The construction foreman kept an eye on me to be sure I was safe and not in the way. Mostly the structure was complete with just a few tweaks needed to be sure it was study and ready for the endless stress of children at play.

Each green pillar was very heavy and required three workman to maneuver it into place. All that remained now was a few protective screens that needed to be secured.

This series of sketches was commissioned as possible gifts for people who donated money for this 5 million dollar expansion to the museum. For me it was fun to see how the construction. Site changed week to week. Workers got used to my presence and they liked to glance over my shoulder to see if they had been captured. When they recognized a coworker they would rib him, saying that the reason he made it into the sketch was because he was standing around and doing nothing. Every worker however was constantly in motion. Progress was insanely fast.

Kids invade the Orange Grove.

Posted on by Thor

With construction complete on the New Kids Town in the Orlando Science Center, (777 East Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803) I returned on a Saturday to the Orange Grove to see how kids like the new play area.To say the liked it is a understatement. Kids love this play area. Parents waited by sitting on d bench that separated a much smaller toddler’s play area from the orange grove. A bicycle that looks like a tractor is used to power a conveyor belt lift that brings the orange balls up to an elevated ramp. A hand peddle powers a second lift. All of these balls roll it a large water tower with the Dr. Phillips logo on it. Some balls then roll down other ramps to fall behind the bulbous plastic trees where holes allow the “fruit” to be picked. When the water tower is full of balls, an alarm goes off and warning light flash. Kids learn like Pavlovian pets to run to the tower where all the balls fall all at once out of the tower. Kids hold up collecting trays and their bare hands in hopes of catch in as much as they can.

There are conveyor belts that transport the balls through machines this must act as cleaners. A truck can be loaded up to transport the “fruit” to market. It is amazing how competitive Kids become to gather up as much “fruit” as they can. The final stop is y fresh fruit market. A girl rushing towards the market with a box full o oranges knocked the sketch boo out of my lap without missing a beat. Besides the oranges, there over other pillory fruits like watermelons. Several parents returned to there waiting be n and the wife signaled over to me to let me know they were in the same spot to be sketched.

New Kids Town construction at the Orlando Science Center.

Posted on by Thor

For the past several months [ have been going to the Orlando Science Center (777 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803) once a week, to sketch the five million dollar construction of the New Kids Town. A company in Ohio designed all the interactive exhibits. Seven rooms were constructed to house the huge play areas. The first area under construction consisted of a maze of green metal support rods. The inner skeleton was still visible. Each support beam was numbered and a large architects drawing was consulted to see which beam went where.

A Genie lift was used to get up high or some times to suport a horizontal beam before it was secured. Workers climbed ladders and walked the beams like tightrope walkers. I was issued a hard hat and it came in useful since I had to duck to avoid a beam being lifted into place. Above me, a worker was sparkling wall joints a the supervisor advised me to move aside for a while. I took his advice because he had my safety in mind.

Workers looked over my shoulder, to see if they had been caught in the sketch. One worker told me about a friend of his who made decent money doing tattoos. Perhaps I’ve missed my calling. I could imagine this Climb Time area will be very popular once the kids get a chance to explore it.