Hidden Hollow Opens at Heritage
Published on Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Joining the nation-wide movement to reconnect children with nature.
Sandwich, Cape Cod, MA (July 28,2010) - Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich, MA, is pleased to announce the opening of its newest feature, Hidden Hollow, on August 3, 2010. This exciting new outdoor discovery area encourages families with children ages two to ten to play, learn and enjoy nature together.
The award-winning Julie Moir Messervy Design Studio’s inspired design transforms two previously undeveloped acres of the museum’s 100-acre public garden into a beautiful, natural space that provides a secure environment featuring a wide range of educational activity areas. Here, children have the opportunity to climb stepping stumps, navigate log balance beams, construct forts, create nature-inspired art, build with wooden blocks, dig in the sand, experiment with water, make music on a marimba, engage in sensory investigation with living plants and more.
Educators and experts agree that children are no longer able to spend long, unstructured hours creating bonds with the outdoors and their environment – certainly not in ways that previous generations enjoyed. Heritage Museums & Gardens is joining the nation-wide movement to reconnect children with nature.
Hidden Hollow will be certified as a Nature Explore Classroom through the National Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation. Certification recognizes organizations that have made a commitment to helping children use the natural world as an integral part of learning.
A robust schedule of programming is being offered in Hidden Hollow, from daily drop-in activities for museum visitors to scheduled programs for families, school and community groups to workshops for parents and teachers. It is anticipated that this new space will serve approximately 30,000 visitors annually. The development of this new feature and its educational programming has been made possible through the support of the Institute for Museum and Library Services, Jane’s Trust and generous donors to the museum’s Foundation for the Future capital campaign.