“Build! Create! Innovate! Winter Edition" at the Putnam Museum & Science Center -- through February 28.
Through Tuesday, February 28
Putnam Museum & Science Center, 1717 West 12th Street, Davenport IA
A seasonal followup to the popular exhibit housed at the Putnam Museum & Science Center this past summer, Build! Create! Innovate! Winter Edition will, through February 28, introduce visitors of all ages to matters of problem solving and abstract thinking using mathematics, physics, and design with the fun, simple building materials known as KEVA blocks.
Equally appealing to children and adults, KEVA planks require very little instruction and allow users to unleash their creativity. Children will discover the joy of physics, engineering, and design. Adults will build alongside kids, testing their own abilities at a higher level and taller heights. And teachers will be empowered and equipped to challenge students to imagine, design, and build their own structures, all within the Smithsonian-affiliated Putnam Museum & Science Center.
Precision-cut, identical construction blocks, KEVA planks are about one-quarter-inch thick, three-quarters of an inch wide, and four-and-a-half inches long, and stack with surprising stability, without glue or connectors. Using only gravity, visitors of all ages will engage with physics to achieve balance, optimum proportion, and a steady structure. Visitors will be encouraged to create everything from sleds to snowflakes to full winter scenes.
“Back by popular demand, this exhibit will be a crowd pleaser," said Christine Chandler, the Putnam's Curator of Natural History. "We’ve taken original elements and given it a wintertime twist. We know that museumgoers will be thrilled to see Build! Create! Innovate! Winter Edition and the Keva planks available once again for all those budding engineers, architects, and artists to set their imaginations free."
Build! Create! Innovate! Winter Edition includes 3,600-square feet of building space and more than 15,000 KEVA planks, along with a pre-built castle, snowflakes, a sled, and more. The exhibit was made possible with support from IMPACT Illowa Construction Labor & Management Council; Tri-City Building Trades Council; Associated General Contractors (AGC) of the Quad Cities; Mechanical Contractors Association (MCA) of Eastern Iowa & Western Illinois; Finishing Contractors Association Quad Cities; NECA Quad Cities; and SMACNA Quad Cities.
“We had such an incredible response to Build! Create! Innovate! and the innovative KEVA Planks over the summer that we were happy to bring it back for the winter season,” said Rachael Mullins, President and CEO of the Putnam. “We’re excited to see the new creations that visitors will come up with as they explore the exhibit and the rest of our treasured museum over the holiday season.”
The interactive exhibit Build! Create! Innovate! Winter Edition will at the Putnam Museum & Science Center through February 28, with venue hours Wednesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. Exhibit entrance is free with regular $8-9 museum admission, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)324-1933 and visiting Putnam.org.
