Gross motor and imaginative play!
Step Into the Woods, part of the Gallery of Wonder, where adventure is just over the river and around the bend!
This nature-inspired space invites children and families to climb, build, balance, and explore. Tree-like structures rise up for little climbers. Open-ended building pieces wait to become a forts, a woodland hideout, or a camping adventure. Every visit can turn into a brand-new forest story.
Here, children use their whole bodies. They stretch, lift, crawl, and balance as they test what they can do. They decide together how to build something strong. Big movement leads to big thinking.
While they play, children are building strength, coordination, and body awareness. They practice problem solving as they plan and adjust their ideas. Working together helps them share, take turns, and listen to one another’s plans. Each small challenge they overcome builds real confidence.
Families are invited to join the adventure cheering on their adventurous climbers. Wait – is that a baby owl? What else do you see nestled in the trees? In Into the Woods, movement becomes learning, teamwork becomes connection, and every climb brings a new sense of “I did it!”
Active, imaginative play helps children build strong bodies and confident minds. Experiences like those in the Into the Woods exhibit support physical development, problem solving, creativity, and social growth. Caregivers play a powerful role by offering encouragement, sharing joy, and turning active play into meaningful moments of learning.
Children can climb, crawl, balance, and navigate age-appropriate challenges that support growing motor skills. These experiences help children learn what their bodies can do while building confidence through practice and persistence.
Children are practicing:
Grown-ups can try:
Offer encouragement and let your child decide how and when to move through each challenge.
In the fort-building area, children use loose materials to create shelters, stories, and shared ideas. This open-ended experience supports creativity, collaboration, and early planning skills as children decide what to build and how to work together.
Children are practicing:
Grown-ups can try:
Ask questions like, “What are you building?” and let your child explain their ideas.
Swinging, stepping, and moving along pathways gives children opportunities to experience rhythm, momentum, and coordination. These activities support physical development while offering moments of joy and connection during shared play.
Children are practicing:
Grown-ups can try:
Encouraging safe risk-taking can help children develop strong motor skills and pride in their abilities.
Toddlers
Toddlers can crawl, step, and explore simple movement challenges at their own pace. Repeating these actions helps build confidence and coordination.
Grown-ups can help by:
Staying close, offering reassurance, and celebrating effort.
Preschoolers can climb, build, and invent stories as they explore the woods. These experiences support independence, imagination, and growing physical skills.
Grown-ups can help by:
Encouraging children to try new movements and share their ideas during play.
Older children can engage more deeply by helping plan forts, modeling safe movement, and inviting younger children into imaginative stories. Their leadership supports cooperation and shared learning.
Grown-ups can help by:
Encouraging older children to explain their ideas and include others in play.
Older siblings can take on leadership roles by creating complex stories, guiding younger children through challenges, and modeling patience and teamwork. Their involvement strengthens family connections and enriches their play for everyone.
Grown-ups can help by:
Inviting older children to take the lead as storytellers, builders, or guides.
The Hamill Foundation
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