COLOR MY WORLD Kids try out the new water painting wall at Habitat Park.
After Kohl Children’s Museum in Glenview opened its innovative outdoor “Habitat Park” exhibit in 2006, the museum adopted a sit-back-and-watch approach. Officials originally planned to complete the new design of the two-acre space in two phases, letting the plants and sculptures settle into the landscape—and giving visiting kids a chance to explore them—before deciding what was next.
That second phase is now complete, and the redesigned exhibit opened earlier this month with several new additions, most of which were created based on visitor feedback and staff observations. “When we first created ‘Habitat Park,’ we did it to provide a safe environment for children to reconnect with nature,” says Sheridan Turner, the museum’s president and CEO. “We wanted them to have an experience very different than the one they have on the playground.”
Habitat Park’s initial incarnation gave kids year-round access to a fenced-in space housing a sculpture trail, landscaped garden, prairie grass maze and interactive tools to encourage kids to connect with the environment. The exhibit was part of a huge transformation for the museum, which moved from Wilmette to its present, expanded Glenview location in 2005.
Construction of the second phase began when the exhibit closed after Labor Day last year. Original plans called for additions of a tunnel made of live willows, a butterfly area, bird sanctuary and sunflower garden. But after watching the space in use, the museum opted to scale back—partly because of budget issues but also to preserve the openness of the space, Turner says.
“We didn’t want to overcrowd it and realized the original plans would have done just that. We saw how much kids loved having the opportunity to really run,” she adds. “Our goal was to make sure there was enough to do without taking away the openness that families appreciated so much.”
New features include a wicker Imagination Hut covered in vines that provides a leafy enclave for hide-and-seek games during warmer months and will morph into an ice-crystal dwelling in winter. A sensory garden is filled with flowers like soft lamb’s ears and fragrant lemon balm, as well as a slate water painting wall. There’s also an Animal Movements area that includes a rope structure held together by a geometric metal frame that allows kids to explore how different creatures move, walk and balance.
While there likely won’t be a phase three to “Habitat Park,” Turner hopes for some small additions later this summer that will be more like a “phase two-and-a-half,” she says, including a wind turbine and a solar-panel demonstration area to teach kids about alternative sources of energy. The museum is also launching a series of outdoor family concerts in the space this summer, including a benefit performance by Ralph’s World and a three-concert partner series with Ravinia. “We want families to be able to come out and enjoy the outdoor concert experience without worrying about their kids running off or making noise. If kids want to run around, jump up and down to the music, this is the place to do it.”
Ralph’s World plays the reopened “Habitat Park” on Friday 19.
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