ESI collaborated with the Children’s Museum of Los Angeles (CMLA) to set a new standard for children’s learning environments where kids not only interact with exhibits, they play an essential role in the creation and operation of the experience.

CMLA sought a way to encourage stewardship of the Earth in Los Angeles’ youngest citizens through the exploration of nature and science. To help children grasp the concept of the interdependence of living things, ESI developed an experience around an imaginative ecosystem that they power and change. Children operate the system using an array of whimsical, science-based activities. By experiencing themselves as part of the interdependent system, children gain a greater sense of what they can do to affect the world around them.

Children can also participate in workshops that demonstrate how humans fit into their community’s larger ecosystem. Each workshop is a place for learning, exploring, doing, showing and – most importantly – having fun.

ESI designed the master plan and activities at CMLA by working closely with Museum staff, the Science Curriculum Coordinator for LA County and an early childhood specialist to establish educational goals for different age groups and a content guide for exhibit and program development. ESI also developed an outreach program to take the Museum out into the community and bring the community back into the Museum, including mobile labs equipped with a range of creative supplies and hands-on activities.