When the new children's room opens at the Museum of the Rockies this summer, kids and families will be surrounded by realistic views of Yellowstone National Park, thanks to murals painted by two young artists.
Malia Krohn, 23, and Laura Veenhuis, 24, recent graduates of Bethany Lutheran College in Minnesota, spent the last month painting the walls for the new Explore Yellowstone exhibit. It's set to open July 1 on the museum's upper floor.
. Using photos and ideas from the museum staff, the artists painted vistas of Yellowstone Lake, the deep blue Morning Glory Pool, a lodgepole forest campground and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Sometimes they worked seven days straight, trying to meet their deadline, using up gallons of latex wall paint.
"We're real happy with it," Krohn said Friday, after the last mural was finished, days ahead of schedule.
"We'll be sad to go home," Veenhuis said. "This was amazing - a lot of fun."
It's all part of a $1.5 million renovation that's transforming the former Loft Gallery into a Yellowstone-like learning space for children from infants to 8-year-olds.
"We don't think you're ever too young to learn to love Yellowstone," said Shelley McKamey, museum dean and director.
It will be five times bigger than the old children's room. The original Martin Discovery Room was so popular, McKamey said, on some winter days the museum's galleries were virtually empty, but the children's room was packed.
"The most heavily used part of the museum was the smallest," McKamey said.
And families used to have to run down two flights of stairs when kids needed to use the bathroom. Now there's a family-friendly bathroom next to the children's room.
Work crews from Dick Anderson Construction started in September to close in the atrium-style loft and turn the upstairs children's room into a replica of Yellowstone Park. The museum didn't have to close a single day, despite the major reconstruction.
The museum staff wants the children's room to be both fun and educational, McKamey said. Their goal is to make it a place where kids can explore, learn about science and get excited about Yellowstone, without any danger of falling in a geyser.
Families will enter through a replica of the Roosevelt Arch. When the children's room is finished, there will be recreations of the Mammoth Terraces, exhibits teaching about Yellowstone's underground plumbing, an old-fashioned lodge where kids can read, and a forest campground with pretend campfire.
A fishing bridge, fire lookout tower, and climbable eagle's nest are also planned.
McKamey said kids will be able to pump a bicycle pump to learn how pressure builds up inside Old Faithful. Geysers will be recreated with pieces of cloth, rather than hot water, propelled skyward by blasts of air.
Most fun for kids may be several whimsical animals made of recycled parts. McKamey said they didn't want real fur animals, to avoid teaching children it's OK to pat wild animals.
A bison cow and calf made of recycled junk have just arrived and are on display in the museum lobby. They're made of all kinds of junk - a boxing glove, bike tires, phone cords, even an espresso pot and a red electric guitar. The bison will be joined by a recycled grizzly bear, bobcat, swan, otter and owl, all created by the Lexington company.
McKamey said she's pleased with the progress upstairs, as well as the reconstructed ground floor lobby. The lobby is more open, with brighter lighting, new floors and a more welcoming, gracious appearance, she said. The ticket desk is off to one side, instead of presenting a barrier to visitors when they walk in.
Krohn and Veenhuis, who confessed they haven't been to Yellowstone, said they can't wait to come back and see the children's exhibit when it's finished. They were chosen to do the murals in an open bid process, based on their visual style, interpretation and cost, according to McKamey. Their contract cost about $17,000.
Now, Veenhuis said and smiled, they're not starving artists anymore.
Gail Schontzler can be reached at gails@dailychronicle.com or 582-2633.
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