Mississippi Children’s Museum visitors are encouraged to get their creative juices flowing through a revamped exhibit in Jackson.
Through a partnership with Nissan and the Mississippi Arts Commission, the new “World at Work” gallery has been reopened, this time featuring an all-electric vehicle and a design studio. The automotive giant donated a Nissan ARIYA to the museum, offering children the unique opportunity to sit in the driver’s seat and explore how electric vehicles work.
The hands-on experience not only sparks learning through role play but also educates children about the latest advancements in the automotive industry.
“Nissan believes that investing in STEM education is investing in the future,” said Victor Taylor, vice president of manufacturing at the Nissan plant in Canton. “By supporting MCM, we’re helping young minds explore innovation, creativity, and the real-world applications of science and technology. We’re proud to be part of a community that values education and empowers the next generation of thinkers and makers.”
The exhibit space features another unique addition from the Canton Nissan plant, called “Nikki the Cobot.” A “cobot” is short for collaborative robot, and assists in production and safety during the manufacturing process. In this experience, guests can test their skills against Nikki, moving their wand along the racing rod to see if they can match her precision and speed with the slow, medium, and fast settings.
More updates include the “Test Track Challenge,” where young designers will consider size, shape, weight, and materials when building a vehicle to meet different challenges on the highways and byways. Visitors are invited to choose a vehicle model and put its speed and strength to the test on one of the six new tracks.
Alongside the technology-centered exhibits, guests can also explore their creative side through the design studio, which introduces the design process, offering visitors prompts where they are asked to think like a designer to solve a problem.
From prompts encouraging them to illustrate their best day to designing a dinner menu, this station exists to spur creativity and teach children about the design process through artistic challenges. This interactive space also features “Material World,” which gives children a hands-on approach to selecting the right material in product design challenges.
Additionally, the exhibit’s “House Build” structure has been updated with a fresh new look, complete with new design elements, such as siding pieces, brick, windows, and more.
“Our team modeled the very process we are exhibiting in Design Studio with many of these exhibits,” Mississippi Children’s Museum exhibits director Rachel Myers said. “We were inspired by the design challenges, like how high could we raise the test track, how heavy the cars would need to be, and more. We’re excited for visitors to put our ideas to the test and learn how important the design process is in so many aspects of work across our state.”
The World at Work gallery area now hosts an art installation titled “Ideas in the Sky” by Cecelia Moseley, a Meridian-based artist. This installation aims to spark children’s imagination through art, design, and innovation. Suspended forms of rockets, robots, pencils, and tools create a floating landscape that encourages young minds to think creatively, like artists, engineers, and inventors. Portions of the updated gallery were made possible by contributions from the Mississippi Arts Commission.
“The Mississippi Arts Commission is proud to support the update of the gallery through the Building Fund for the Arts grant,” Mississippi Arts Commission executive director David Lewis said. “The Mississippi Children’s Museum received a generous grant to help redesign these exhibits. As a design graduate, I’m personally excited for these exhibits that inspire the next generation to create and think like a working artist. We are grateful to the Mississippi Legislature for supporting this grant, which helped make this project possible.”
More information about the museum can be found here.