Let’s play! Three new exhibits at Science City focus on fun for the younger crowd

Three new exhibits geared toward younger children will be opening in March as part of an $8 million expansion at Science City in Union Station. The new exhibits, spread over 13,000 square feet, were designed by The Boston Children’s Museum. It’s the largest expansion since Science City opened in 1999.

“We’re trying to age younger at Science City,“ said Jerry Baber, Union Station’s chief operating officer. “We’ve learned that kids going into kindergarten really need these developmental skills and so we worked with Boston to bring this younger-age interaction into Science City.

“This was a big decision for us. We added new educators who are focused on early learning and art-based activities.”

Baber emphasized that Science City is growing their offerings for families with children of all ages and of different stages of development. The three distinct exhibits include:

▪ Let’s Play! is an exhibit with sensory tables and items to explore and is geared toward Science City’s youngest visitors: birth through 47 months. The area will feature amenities for parents, nursing moms or caregivers and it also has a break room for snacks or lunch. An area for crawlers, called Babyscape, will welcome the youngest visitors.

▪ Creative Corner is an arts-based activity area for children and families. Painting on the glass walls will be encouraged for children and families in Creative Corner. A glass trough will others clean up the mess afterward.

▪ All Aboard, the largest exhibit, is a train-themed area with a large locomotive where kids can climb aboard and pretend play, problem solve and explore. The area also features accessible area for designing and building Brio train tracks. A large model of Union Station, as well the Western Auto building and the Livestock Exchange Building, are the centerpiece of a model train display.

“People love trains and Union Station has a train history, so we carried that theme throughout the whole room,” Baber said.

The new exhibits open to the public at Science City on March 14, 2020.