Where Curiosity Starts its Journey

Our deep dive into the Grand Forks Children's Museum's exhibits continues... The Big Backyard is where our youngest visitors will begin their museum journey. It’s a soft, sensory-rich world designed entirely at toddler scale. It’s a place where curiosity arrives in small, joyful bursts, where caregivers can settle in close, and where early exploration feels both safe and full of possibility. As the museum takes shape, this space becomes the gentle beginning for our littlest visitors and serves to remind us that discovery starts long before children can read signs or follow instructions.

Grand Forks children grow up watching seeds sprout in spring, bees hum through summer, leaves drift in fall, and snow settle softly in winter. The Big Backyard gathers those early sensory experiences and brings them indoors, offering a gentle beginning to discovery no matter the season.

Step inside and the world shifts. The Beehive Climber hums and vibrates gently under tiny feet, inviting little explorers to climb, scoot, and slide in their own rhythm. Just a few steps away, Underground Beats turns simple percussion into a cause and effect adventure. Toddlers tap drums, turn rain sticks, and strike xylophone bars with a tethered mallet, learning through joyful noise how their actions create something new.

Movement and exploration is woven throughout this space. The toddler terrain offers a soft landscape for crawling and wobbling, while the baby corral provides a cushioned haven for tummy time. These areas are designed not only for physical development, but for connection as caregivers are close enough to cheer on each new milestone. Here children are free to explore without hurry.

A quiet reading nook tucked into the bench wall offers a gentle pause, a place where the museum slows to the pace of a shared story. Just around the corner, the air begins to dance. Floating Seeds sends scarves and ‘seeds’ swirling inside an enclosure, rising and drifting until the blower stops and everything settles softly to the bottom again. Toddlers will watch the change with wide eyes, noticing patterns and motion in a way only very young children can.

The Peek a Boo window adds a layer of simple delight. Frosted glass turns clear with the press of a button, revealing a friend, or caregiver on the other side. It’s a game that never loses its charm, especially when the surprise is someone familiar and loved. In the Sprout Garden, oversized plush vegetables and giant seeds can be picked, planted, and rediscovered. Worms, pill bugs, ants, and spiders live in this soft garden patch, helping children explore how vegetables grow and what lives underground.

The Tree Trunk Tunnel invites imaginative play through a cozy crawl through space lined with mirrors, textures, or exploration panels. Even the ceiling participates as leaf themed elements lower the visual height of the room, creating a gentle canopy for babies lying on their backs or toddlers gazing upward. These early moments of exploration gently introduce the building blocks of STEAM, long before children know what those letters stand for.

Each area at the Grand Forks Children’s Museum is designed to spark imagination, confidence, and connection. The Big Backyard does this in its own quiet way, offering a developmentally rich environment where toddlers can explore freely and caregivers can breathe, observe, and engage.

It’s a beginning. The first chapter in the museum experience and a reminder that wonder doesn’t have to be loud to be powerful. Sometimes it’s as small as a hum beneath your feet, a floating scarf, or a shared peek a boo smile.

Katie Mayer, Executive Director, Grand Forks Children's Museum