May 9, 2025, Topeka, Kansas – The Kansas Children’s Discovery Center will opened three new museum spaces designed to support families with special needs this morning. The spaces include: The Nest, infant, lactation and special care room, The Cocoon sensory room, and a remodeled family restroom with a universal changing table.

These spaces are the first completed rooms in an $11.2 million Building Discovery expansion that will double the size of the museum. The full expansion will be open this fall.

The Nest is designed to provide a comfortable, private space for nursing and pumping mothers, as well as adults and children with special medical needs. The Nest is dedicated in honor of Rachel Howland and Mireya Keck, two children who were served in the museum’s Medical Warriors program for medically fragile children. Both families were present for the ribbon cutting event.

“If you want to know the definition of belonging, this is what it feels like.” said Kathy Keck, Mireya’s mother in a powerful Facebook video filmed at the event, “when your child has touched so many lives that when they do an expansion of their building, that they include the memory of your child and create a space that would have been so special to your child. That’s what it feels to belong, and I can’t thank the Discovery Center enough for that today.”

“We are honored to celebrate the legacies of these two extraordinary children in this space of care and compassion,” said Dene’ Mosier, President and CEO, “though their lives were far too short, their strength continues to inspire us.”

The Cocoon is a calming and inclusive sensory space for visitors seeking a quiet space or sensory regulation during their visit. The sensory room was created in collaboration with TARC, part of a long-term partnership between the TARC and the Discovery Center. TARC provided design support and fabricated the custom sensory wall included in the space.

The remodeled family restroom includes a universal changing table, capable of allowing caregivers to provide hygiene care for adults or older children.

“These spaces are intentionally the first rooms we completed in our expansion project, because our first priority is creating a children’s museum that fully welcomes all families,” said Dene’ Mosier, President and CEO.

Accessibility to all children is a key focus for the museum. Of the 118,771 total visitors to the museum in 2024, 47,341, more than 1 in 3 admissions, were either free or subsidized. The museum has built programs to meet the unique needs of medically fragile children, children with incarcerated caregivers, children with autism, children in foster care, and other vulnerable populations.