Kids invited to build and test toy vehicles in traveling exhibit at Ann Arbor museum

From now until April, the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum is welcoming visitors of all ages to a new traveling exhibit called Mobilab. Mobilab invites participants to put together toy vehicles and then test their creations against fun challenges. 

"I think it's going to be a hot commodity," says Ari Morris, the museum's director of exhibits and technology. "We're the very first museum to get Mobilab and it's probably already booked out in other places for the next couple of years."

Morris reports that Mobilab has already been well received since opening to the public on Jan. 16. He's expecting over 200,000 people to visit the new exhibit, which is free with museum admission. 

Young visitors are encouraged to don a white lab coat and then assemble a vehicle from a variety of pieces in any way they'd like. Obstacles, such a hoop jump and a ramp, allow opportunities for creativity and learning about the scientific method. Through trial and error, visitors learn about concepts such as gravity, friction, and stability. The exhibit is designed so that even though a child may not have learned about certain scientific concepts, like aerodynamics, they get to experience them firsthand. 

"Most people think that the reason we're here is so that you can learn about a science concept. You're going to learn what a lever is, or what binary numbers are [or] whatever," Morris says. "That is true. But there's a deeper purpose, which is that we want our visitors to see themselves as scientists and engineers."

Morris shares that he spent some time just observing how people experienced Mobilab during the exhibit's opening days. He witnessed how engaged children became, noting that most typical science museum exhibits only get around two minutes of young visitors' attention. 

"I'm seeing kids play, on the short end, for half an hour at Mobilab. That's unheard of for a science museum exhibit to be on that kind of timeframe for play," he says. "That's important because studies show that play is one of the most important ways for kids to learn."

Morris adds that Mobilab is a great intergenerational activity. Adults, he says, are trying it out and just having fun in their own right, but they're also playing directly with their children. The result is adults showing kids that learning can be fun.

"They will remember this experience as being really fun, and what also sticks with them is the emotional connections they've had," Morris says. "There is so much potential that transcends beyond the exhibit."

Jaishree Drepaul is a writer and editor based in Ann Arbor. She can be reached at jaishreeedit@gmail.com.

Photo courtesy of Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum.