Marbles Kids Museum

The people, mission and context

The mission of Marbles Kids Museum is to spark imagination, discovery and learning through play. The organization serves young children through elementary school age and works to create opportunites for older children as well. Their campus also includes an IMAX theater to enhance the museum-goer experience.

The target audience for the project included parents of young children, and young adults both living in and visiting the city.

The problem

Exterior Engagement

Although Marbles is located in a prominent downtown location, few passers-by understood what the Museum was and the experiences it had to offer. The team worked to address the issue of connecting Marbles through the exterior / perimeter campus facades, corridors and pathways to invite community engagement through play.

The team worked to create outdoor engagements to entice visitors and inform them of adult activities within the campus.

Interior Connectedness

The exterior of the Marbles campus did not match the visually stimulating interior and people felt afraid to explore the external campus.

On the interior, the lobby often gets very crowded and the visual stimulation within the museum causes guests to miss important wayfinding signage.

The solution

The team employed creative solutions such as interactive “light walls” that would catch the attention and create delight for anyone – even residents or visitors who may not be the typical target audience of families with children.

The team outlined that creating such a attractions would allow for word-of-mouth about the additional attractions within the museum.

To address the interior wayfinding and visitor flow issues, the team conducted interviews of the museum’s guests to identify “pinch-points” within the museum, and signage that caused confusion. They explored the parking and outer area and designed wayfinding systems and signage that aligned to Marbles’ visually playful brand.