Still four months out from opening to the public, the ExplorationWorks! Museum already has some exciting exhibits planned. Many of the exhibits are being designed and produced locally, once again, allowing the community to become part of the ExplorationWorks! vision.

Little Sky Country is a 600 square foot permanent exhibit located on the first floor of the museum, designed especially for children ages 0-5 and their caregivers. The exhibit is built around a natural world theme, emphasizing habitat and creatures of the forest (with a healthy dose of whimsy and fantasy incorporated). Exhibit components are based in the latest research in early childhood development and engage children in sensory play experiences that promote early literacy, creativity, pre-math and science skills, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills. Virginia Muszkiewicz and Suzanne Wilcox of ExplorationWorks are the chief designers.

The Healer Within is a 39-part, 2,500-square-foot exhibit which is encourages visitors not only to see and hear, but to touch, listen, and learn and become actively engaged in improving their own health. It is a traveling exhibit about self-directed wellness that will visit from the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Missouri. Two Capital High School videography students produced a video to complement the exhibit featuring interviews of locals who are living healthy active lives at an age of 90+.

Hang Gliding Simulator was invented, designed and built Helena teen Sam Thompson with the help of his father and other community members. The exhibit’s user is suspended in a harness and holds a crossbar and attempts to fly the hang-glider watching a digital flight simulator on a screen. Thompson was invited to the Maker’s Fair in California and has since received requests to build the exhibit for other museums.

The Colossal Colon is just that, a 40-foot long, crawl-through colon model built to help educate younger people about colorectal cancer and other illnesses that can originate in or affect the colon. Tracy Donaldson is a survivor of colorectal cancer and a group of friends raised $10,000 to bring the traveling exhibit to ExplorationWorks!.

The Trait Walk will allow visitors to walk through an interactive exhibit to trace how they inherited their physical traits. The exhibit is being produced by ExplorationWorks! volunteer exhibit team, including Shodair geneticist Annie Adams, and will focus on genetics and healthy habits to be part of the opening exhibit “The Healer Within.”