Discovery Center Takes Visitors on a Trip to Kenya With New Cultural Exhibit

Beginning Friday, September 13, families are invited to explore The Kansas Children’s Discovery Center’s newest cultural exhibit, Kenya’s Kids, and discover what life is like for children in Kenya today, a country both technologically-advanced and filled with longtime traditions. As they travel through five immersive environments, children can compare the similarities and differences between their lives and those of children in the East African country of Kenya.

In Kenya’s Kids, visitors will have the opportunity to experience a rural home as they learn about water conservation and use a beautiful Khanga cloth to carry a baby on their back or dress as a Maasai, one of 43 ethnic groups in Kenya. At the school, children can learn Swahili using touchscreen notebooks just like students in Kenya. Visitors can also convert dollars to shillings and “shop” in an outdoor market and at a duka, tiny shops found throughout Kenya, as they learn about the country’s advanced phone-based financial system called M-Pesa. At the national reserve, children can become a ranger and drive a safari vehicle. They can also become a keeper at an elephant orphanage that cares for abandoned baby animals and learn about animal conservation. Visitors will marvel at life-size sculptures of native African animals, created by local artisans in Nairobi, integrated into the exhibit. Using tablets to snap photos of the animal sculptures, an augmented reality experience triggers a 3-Dimensional rendered image of the animal in its habitat to help visitors learn more about the species.

Kenya’s Kids is part of a cultural exhibit series created by The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum with a goal of introducing children to cultures from around the world. This immersive exhibit is designed for children 3 to 12 years and was created in partnership with the St. Louis Kenyan community. Kenya’s Kids is generously made possible by the Crawford Taylor Foundation and The Dana Brown Charitable Trust, U.S. Bank Trustee.

Locally sponsored by the Redbud Foundation, Kenya’s Kids will be on display at The Kansas Children’s Discovery Center from September 13, 2019 to January 4, 2020. The exhibit is included in regular admission, which is $7.75 for adults and children, free for infants under 12 months and free for museum members. For more information, please 785-783-8300 or visit www.kansasdiscovery.org/kenyaskids.