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The Minnesota Children's Museum had a similar program a few years back -- I'm not sure if they still do. This program was open to general visitors so reached the preschool set as well as school age.  Keyboards were a favorite for the younger kids since they could just pop off the keys.  Otherwise, if I remember correctly, the 'rules' and procedure were similar to what Janet described in an earlier post.

While many parents were at first apprehensive when they saw their child holding a real screwdriver- they were soon won over by how cool an opportunity it was.  Plus it had that "not at my house" destruction factor that a lot of parents enjoy. 

This did create a lot of waste that needed to be disposed of and the waste did take up a lot of room-- and since some of the components were hazardous they couldn't just be dumped. But, in my opinion, the hassle was certainly worth it.


Rebekah Stendahl
Supervisor of Family Programs
New England Aquarium
Central Wharf
Boston, MA 02110
617-973-6580
617-226-2149 Family Programs
617-973-0251 fax

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