A new exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Oak Lawn has families building new worlds with their hands.
On a roughly three-and-a-half-foot table, one person can pour earth into the middle of a simulated “ocean,” eventually forming an island, while another person can scoop earth from a “continent” to form a lake.
“We see parents playing all the time with their kids, discussing what they’re going to build, whether it’s a mountain or a volcano,” said Adam Woodworth, executive director of the museum.
The new topography table, which is a permanent exhibit, was unveiled with much fanfare July 30 with a ribbon cutting attended by community leaders, including Oak Lawn Mayor Sandra Bury and U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski.
Since its unveiling, Woodworth said the topography table has been the most popular exhibit at the museum.
He first got the idea of installing a topography table about three years ago while attending a museum conference.
Some time later, Woodworth nonchalantly showed a photo of the table to his brother-in-law.
His brother-in-law happens to work at Lockport Township High School and mentioned that students there had recently built something similar.
Woodworth reached out to school officials and said Brett Gould, an assistant superintendent, loved the idea of having students work on a project that would have applications in the real world.
Without the partnership with LTHS Woodworth said, “We would have had to raise more money to have it built and the fundraising we would have had to do would have delayed the exhibit.”
Students designed and built the framework of the topography table last year and donated it to the museum.
Woodworth said museum carpenters then installed the electrical components, including a computer, and drilled holes for exhaust fans.
“We built an educational component around it,” he said.
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A projector shines down on the earth on the table creating illusions of water or land.
Other effects include snowcaps on larger mounds of earth, creating mountain effect.
And if someone moves their hand between the projector and the table a shadow from a rain cloud forms and a rain illusion drops down.
“If you turn off the projector, it’s essentially a sandbox,” Woodworth said.
From mountains to islands and peninsulas to isthmuses, Woodworth hopes children will expand their vocabulary and understanding of topography with the exhibit.
He said a boy, who was 7 or 8 years old, called the table “neat” and wondered what type of animals would populate each area of the map.
Woodworth said organizers might add animal toys, such as tigers for the land areas and whales for the oceans, for children to place in their appropriate spots.
He said another educational component could be a lesson about the ecosystem for older children experimenting on the topography table.
Tickets to the museum at 5100 Museum Drive are $9 with discounts for seniors, teachers and military families.
The museum’s annual Fall Fest is scheduled for Sept. 30 when tickets will be half price and the festivities will include outdoor games and crafts.