Exhibit: Playing Outside the Box

No empty paper towel roll or Amazon.com box is safe in our house from creative repurposing by my 5-year-old son, so he and I headed to The Children’s Museum of Atlanta’s new exhibit, “Outside the Box,” to see what could be imagined into existence.

The exhibit consists of three different areas: The Box Zone, Imagination Playground and Maker’s Space. My son zipped right over to the Box Zone, filled with cardboard boxes of all sizes (small to huge!) as well as tubes and cylinders. Within minutes, using 25 boxes of different sizes and shapes, we had built a life-sized castle with column entrance fit for any prince. My son climbed over boxes as he moved with speed and fervor to find the perfect-sized pieces to complete his architectural masterpiece. It was a mental and physical workout!
In Maker’s Space, plenty of museum assistants helped my son as he decided to make a telescope for fish – he clearly embraced the no-boundaries theme of the exhibit. Hands down, this section was his favorite part. Each month, a new themed art project is offered in this area, so we also decided to make this month’s Bean Sprout Viewer that allows you to see bean seeds as they sprout. He thought that was neat! Older kids could experiment with basic CAD (computer aided design) programs on computers to create some clever inventions. Imagination Playground offered several games and hands-on activities that he explored, and the materials to play with went way beyond blocks.
The children we saw visiting the exhibit had no problem diving in to create and do. Accompanying parents need to channel their inner child to enjoy the experience as well. I saw toddlers sitting banging on boxes, grandparents taking commands from little architects in training, and older children creating inspired projects. Depending on your children’s level of interest in building, you may spend less than an hour on this exhibit (my son was done in about 30 minutes), which left us plenty of time to play in all his favorite permanent exhibit areas as well. 
As we were leaving I asked him if he had fun thinking outside the box. He replied, “Yes, and my fish will be happy I made him a telescope!”
- Valerie Shepherd