Kearney Area Children’s Museum unveils new medical and dental exhibit

RICK BROWN Yard Light Media

KEARNEY – When it comes to patrons visiting the Kearney Area Children’s Museum, staff members have one goal in mind – to learn through play.

“With the medical and dental exhibit, they can learn how to go to the doctor’s office or even prepare for an emergency,” said Janell Brown, executive director of the museum. “Also they can play roles for their future. They can imagine themselves one day being a doctor, surgeon or nurse.”

The museum recently opened a reimagined medical exhibit, complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Immediately after the ribbon was cut, about a dozen children who had been sitting patiently on the floor entered the exhibit and began exploring the new elements.

Brown understands the value of experiential learning for children. Her 7-year-old daughter recently injured her finger, resulting in a trip to the emergency room.







Brushing teeth

Children at the new medical campus at the Kearney Area Children’s Museum play a game about brushing their teeth.


Photos by LARRY SULLIVAN II, KEARNEY HUB


“I didn’t expect her to go that far in needing x-rays that day,” Brown said. “My daughter was very scared when she was taken to the X-ray department. When I tried to tell her what they were doing, she said, ‘Oh, like in the children’s museum.’ Yes, that’s right. It really helped us calm her fears that day.”

The renovated area at the Kearney Area Children’s Museum features a new maternity care area, a dentist’s office and clinic, along with updates to the ambulance. Activities at the exhibit include a life-size version of the game “Operation,” interactive teeth brushing and other activities.

The renovation cost approximately $112,000, which was covered by DED Shovel-Ready grant funds, and sponsors including Kearney Regional Medical Center, Sandhills Oral and Facial Surgery, CHI Health Good Samaritan, Kearney Pediatric Dentistry, Prairie Meadows Dental, Contemporary Obstetrics & GENT Physicians of Kearney, Glen Powell & Family, Longo Family Orthodontics and Pediatric Dental Specialists of Kearney.







Inside the Ambulance

Two children play inside the ambulance at the Medical Campus.


LARRY SULLIVAN II, KEARNEY HUB


Brown noted that attendance at the museum is now at pre-pandemic levels.

Designed in a way to pique children’s interest, the museum features a circular path of exhibits.

“On the other side of the museum, it has been erected as a path from the farm to the fork,” said the director. “We have the ag sector, the train display and the water table that explains how everything goes from the farms to our grocery stores and then into our homes. On this side of the museum, it’s laid out like a town with a veterinary clinic, a doctor’s office, a post office, a classroom, and a police and fire station.”

Brown explained that children tend to focus more on activities when families are together at the museum.







Operation table

Children play on an operating table.


LARRY SULLIVAN II, KEARNEY HUB


“The more we see families interacting together, the more focused they are,” she said. “They can play a role in a field a little more. We also combine some things. You’ll see that our post office is here, but we have mailboxes throughout the museum, so kids are encouraged to continue that play in the museum. Some of the areas interact intentionally and some of them, not so intentionally.”

To emphasize learning through play, the staff keeps the museum with the concept of how children interact with the exhibits.

“We try to create activities for kids that respect their limited attention spans,” Brown said.

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