This 10,000 square foot kid-powered construction site has plenty of work to be done. Real painting, hauling, building and planning gets little builders excited about the real work of construction.
Construction Zone: Return of the Bulldozer brings back some of the most popular parts from the first Construction Zone exhibit and offers spectacular new areas to learn and explore.
Kids Quarry
Ride a pedal-powered front-end loader or backhoe and scoop “rocks” around the quarry!
Big Rigs
A giant play set from Backyard Playworld sits alongside a kid-sized Werner Enterprises Semi and a Big Bulldozer for massive fun! Kids can get in the vehicles to “drive” and play with lots of buttons and levers. And, they'll brush up on spatial awareness while loading cargo in the truck.
Pulley Place
Our parachute machine returns along with a pulley bucket station with wheelbarrows to move “rocks”.
A real repurposed crane from Topping Out, Inc. allows kids to raise and lower an I-Beam.
Creation Station
Oversized foam shapes created by Imagination Playground let kids create their own structures and vehicles in this area sponsored by RDG Planning and Design.
Carpentry Corner
This free-build station will house special tool kits to check out and do a real construction project! Special program times and limited seating will let kids work with their parent or caretaker to make a birdhouse or other wooden structure.
Paint Shack
Ever wanted to paint a wall in your house? The Paint Shack houses real brushes and rollers for kids to express their creativity big time!
Try-A-Trade
Partners from several Omaha unions have created interactive exhibits so kids
can learn about electrical circuits, plumbing, bolts, ventilation systems and more.
Concrete Station
A massive sand pit houses a sifting station that kids can mix and mold “concrete”. Earth-movers also help move the “cement” around the station.
Water Works
In this “underground” obstacle course created by Metropolitan Utilities District kids can climb through a “pipe” maze to see
what’s happening below ground and how it works above ground.
Build It
Kids can use their imagination to design and build amazing structures with different kinds of building sets like Legos, KNex, builder boards and more.
Construction Zone was created by Omaha Children's Museum in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Metropolitan Utilities District, Ash Grove Cement Company, Kiewit Building Group, RDG Planning and Design, Werner Enterprises, HDR, Topping Out, Inc., Oriental Trading Company, Backyard Playworld, Millard Lumber, Lyman-Richey Corporation, Diamond Fence Co., Ready Mixed Concrete Company, Universal Flooring, Davis Erection Company, Inc. Sheet Metal Workers Local 3, Steamfitters and Plumbers Local 464, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 22, Ironworkers Local 21, Omaha Plumbers Local Union 16, North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters Local Union #444, Piping Resources, Inc. Midwest Scaffold Service, Clear Creek Landscapes, Watkins and Heartland Scenic Studio. The organizations involved have spent hundreds of hours developing the exhibit and building it in the 10,000 square foot traveling exhibit gallery on the museum's second floor.