Lina Gaulocher, 2, of Amherst, places colored pegs into a light board in the new hands-on exhibit "SensERIE" on the first floor of the Buffalo Museum of Science, Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.
The Buffalo Museum of Science's newest early childhood experience, "SensERIE," is all about touch and play.
On Saturday morning, children were busy doing both.
They put their hands into rushing water running through a stainless-steel trough. They pulled levers and pressed buttons inside a 16-foot-long submarine. They peered through a periscope and caught simulated leaves shooting out of an air machine.
Some children put brightly colored cylinders into a large light board and played with giant Lego-like building blocks. Other kids sat quietly with a parent reading a book inside a wheelchair-accessible tree nook, with soothing sounds of chirping birds and water overhead.
"After a long year of not being able to get out and do things, having something new to touch and play is wonderful," said Matt Dempsey, there with 4-year-old son Nathan.
"It's the best way to learn for little kids," Dempsey said. "Being able to build with giant, full-size blocks, play with the water and see how things float down, and then be able to play with gears and then be able to time out and be quiet is a great balance."
Amelia Scinta watched as her son Stuart, 2, played with the building blocks and then the leaf blower.
"Stuart has been playing in here for a solid half hour and is really enjoying it," Scinta said. "I can tell this is a place that we're going to come to often in the winter as well as maybe in the summer, when it's too hot to play in the playground."
David Rogge, 4, of Amherst, plays with oversized interlocking bricks in the new hands-on exhibit at the Buffalo Museum of Science, Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.
The 1,800-square-foot "SensERIE" exhibit on the first floor replaces the 11-year-old Explorations early childhood gallery.
The hands-on and sensory-sensitive exhibit, designed in-house under the direction of David Cinquino, the museum's director of exhibits, features three sections representing Tifft Nature Park, the City of Buffalo and Lake Erie.
"I think our in-house team of designers and builders did a marvelous job really rethinking that space, and bringing a fresh atmosphere and set of offerings for our youngest visitors," said Marisa Wigglesworth, the museum's president and chief executive officer.
Brian Kraft, an eight-year member of the museum there with son Tyler, 7, welcomed the changes.
"I liked that they re-created the space to bring in new things for kids to build, design and just use their imagination," Kraft said.
David Rogge, 4, of Amherst, watches his boat travel down the river in the water table, which has been carried over into the new hands-on exhibit "SensERIE" on the first floor of the Buffalo Museum of Science, Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.
Mark and Jennifer Bush drove from Jamestown with children, Toby and Amelia, to be there.
"Both of our children have autism, and we love it here," Jennifer Bush said. "We're very familiar with the sensory needs of a lot of children, and this covers a lot of them.
"I'm very thankful," she said. "We appreciate spaces like this. Where we live we don't have them."
As Bush spoke, Amelia was busy with a net playing with the water and following it as it flowed downstream.
"My daughter loves water," Bush said. "She plays in the sink at home and this is perfect for her."
Bush said some children can't handle a lot of noise, and liked that the space was quiet even though several kids were playing nearby. She also appreciated the quiet reading nooks.
David Rogge, 4, of Amherst, plays with colored magnet tiles on a light table in the new hands-on exhibit "SensERIE" at the Buffalo Museum of Science, Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.
Coming to the museum on Oct. 16 is "Lost Beauty II: The Art of Museum Stories." Paintings by Alberto Rey of 15 artifacts from the museum's collection will be featured.
Coming Feb. 5 for seven months will be "Antarctic Dinosaurs," a major exhibition that toured the Field Museum in Chicago and the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, and is currently at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta.
"I've been really gratified that our organization, with the support of our board of managers, recognizes that it's very important for the museum to continue to be assertive with the programs and experiences we offer," Wigglesworth said.
Entry to "SensErie" is included with general admission, which is $16, $13 for children, students, seniors and military. Individual and family memberships are also available. Masks are required.
Hours are 10 am. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, go to sciencebuff.org.
Mark Sommer covers preservation, development, the waterfront, culture and more. He's also a former arts editor at The News.
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Mark Sommer covers preservation, development, culture, the waterfront and more. He's also a former arts editor at The News.
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"Antarctic Dinosaurs: The Exhibition," featuring the 25-foot-long cryolophosaurus, is coming to the Buffalo Museum of Science on Feb. 5.
"Antarctic Dinosaurs: The Exhibition," in Buffalo for a seven-month engagement, tells the story of how this frozen tundra of snow and ice was once home to dinosaurs and what researchers have learned about them despite unyielding climate and ground conditions.
The museum reopened its second floor, which includes the world premiere of the mummy exhibit that has been extended to Oct. 18 after being shuttered five weeks into its run.
Museums and other cultural institutions are taking a go-slow approach to reopening, and visitors can expect greatly reduced capacity, an emphasis on advance ticketing and directional signs to keep people apart.
The museum insured the contents of the exhibition for damages, but was not covered for the kind of sudden cancellation that
Lina Gaulocher, 2, of Amherst, places colored pegs into a light board in the new hands-on exhibit "SensERIE" on the first floor of the Buffalo Museum of Science, Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.
David Rogge, 4, of Amherst, watches his boat travel down the river in the water table, which has been carried over into the new hands-on exhibit "SensERIE" on the first floor of the Buffalo Museum of Science, Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.
David Rogge, 4, of Amherst, plays with oversized interlocking bricks in the new hands-on exhibit at the Buffalo Museum of Science, Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.
David Rogge, 4, of Amherst, plays with colored magnet tiles on a light table in the new hands-on exhibit "SensERIE" at the Buffalo Museum of Science, Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.
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