The Longmont Museum’s newest exhibit, Tipi to Tiny House, will allow children and their families to explore the intersection between the environment and buildings through immersive, hands-on activities.
In the exhibit, which opens to the public on June 11, museum goers will be able to explore, experience and build different styles of homes using assorted materials.
The attractions will include a lifesize shepherd’s wagon, which is “decked out with interactive activities inside and fake sheep outside,” Jared Thompson, the exhibit curator at the Longmont Museum said.
A Plains-style tipi will be available for people to explore, as well as a “tiny house” — an 8’ by 22’ home — where educational lessons will be given on how composting toilets work, and other factors that come into play when someone lives off the grid without access to utilities, Thompson said.
A pillow fort, pieces to build a small log cabin and Arc kits — similar to Legos — will be at the exhibit, allowing attendees to experiment with building structures using different materials.
After building a structure, people will be able to put their work to the test using an interactive wind tunnel, Thompson added.
“(The Tipi to Tiny House Exhibit) is about teaching people how humans have an effect on the environment, and how the environment has an effect on what you build,” Thompson said. “We talk about where these home structures are being used and what materials are available to build them.”
“Each type of home tells a different story about human ingenuity and the inventive and adaptive responses in finding a place to live,” the Longmont Museum website states.
