Build Big Ideas in the Building Gallery

6 hours ago
3 min read

What do skyscrapers, dinosaur skeletons, bridges, and bird nests have in common? They’re all examples of building, and kids can explore every version of it inside the Building Gallery at Magic City Discovery Center.

The Building Gallery is an interactive construction zone where children become architects, engineers, artists, and problem-solvers all at once. Filled with hands-on materials and immersive experiences, this gallery explores building as both a noun (structures) and a verb (the act of creating). From towering foam arches to carefully balanced block cities, every exhibit invites kids to design, test, rebuild, and imagine.

Where STEAM Meets Architecture and Art

Building isn’t just about math and engineering…it’s also about creativity, storytelling, and design! In the Building Gallery, children explore the science, technology, engineering, and math behind structures while also discovering the artistic side of architecture found in cultures around the world.

Large-scale building zones encourage cooperation and movement, while smaller stations invite careful planning, fine motor skills, and individual creativity. Surrounding it all are construction-site details like beams, girders, and bold graphics featuring real buildings (including familiar sights from Minot!), that make kids feel like they’ve stepped onto an active build site.

Highlights You’ll Want to Try

Some favorite ways to build, test, and explore include:

Giant Foam Catenary Arch: Work together to construct a massive foam arch and discover how shape, balance, and cooperation keep structures standing strong.
Lincoln Logs & GIANT Lincoln Logs: Compare classic Lincoln Logs with oversized components to explore scale, proportion, and structural design.
Interactive Crane & Construction Role-Play Area: Put on a hard hat, operate a kid-sized crane, move foam blocks and rocks, and knock it all down to try again.
Hardwood Unit Blocks: Build tall towers, wide bridges, or complex cities using natural blocks designed for multi-age and multi-ability play.
What Does It Feel Like to Be a Column?: Push up on a pediment and feel compression, stress, and support with your whole body (engineering you can experience firsthand!).

Each exhibit encourages trial and error, helping kids learn that failure is just part of building something better.

How Adults Can Support the Building Process

Adults play an important role in turning play into deeper learning. In the Building Gallery, you can support discovery by:

Talking about what your child wants to build
- Is it dinosaurs, castles, bridges, or something entirely new?
Letting kids lead the design and construction process
Discussing what happens when a structure falls and brainstorming ways to make it stronger next time
Asking open-ended questions like:
- What helped this stay balanced?
- What could you change?
- What happens if you build higher?

These conversations help children connect cause and effect, persistence, and problem-solving.

Why Building Matters for Growing Minds

Construction play supports development in powerful ways. In the Building Gallery, children:

Strengthen gross and fine motor skills through lifting, stacking, balancing, and placing materials
Practice planning, sequencing, and goal-setting
Learn teamwork and communication through cooperative projects
Build confidence by testing ideas and revising designs
Make connections between human-made structures and natural designs, like nests or webs

Kids are building more than towers; they’re building reasoning skills, creativity, resilience, and curiosity.

A Foundation for Lifelong Learning

The Building Gallery aligns with North Dakota Early Childhood and K–12 Science Standards and Next Generation Science Standards, supporting concepts like balance, gravity, structure and function, scale, and engineering design. But more importantly, it gives children the freedom to explore these ideas through play.

Every beam stacked, block balanced, and structure rebuilt is a chance to think like an engineer, imagine like an artist, and discover like a scientist.

So grab a hard hat, roll up your sleeves, and come build something amazing—one idea at a time—in the Building Gallery.