Town Square
Town Square
Town Square is a mini version of Richmond. It has cobblestone carpeted walkways that lead you to a garage, TV studio, café, grocery store, hospital, ambulance, bank and school. Children and grown-ups can role play and explore this community through pretend play in the following exhibits:
The Bank
The Bank allows young visitors to role play working in a bank or being a customer in one. The bank includes a deposit counter and teller’s window in a child-sized, hands-on environment. The bank has a vault for storing ‘gold’ and a counting ATM. Games allow children to match denominations and spin a wheel to learn about savings.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Schoolhouse
The whimsical one-room schoolhouse has all the ingredients for playing school. Chalkboards, charts, maps, pointers, desks and a flagpole support high quality, imaginative play. It’s a great space to play teacher and student.
Garage
Children will step into a pretend auto shop equipped with all the tools they need to perform maintenance on a child-sized car mounted on a lift. Children will have fun sorting, matching and problem-solving as they select tools, replace parts and fill work orders. Working with other ‘mechanics’ encourages positive social skills and the exhibit’s activities help enhance fine and gross motor skills.
Grocery Store&Café
In Monument Market, children can do the shopping, order at the deli or work as a cashier scanning the groceries. In the Café, children and grown-ups can role play being customers or working in a restaurant. A kitchen and order counter help get the food out to the café tables
and chairs.
Television Station
In the TV Studio, children can work both sides of the camera. A news desk, television camera, scripts and control station allow children to plan their own news broadcast. Children will be able to see themselves as the stars of the broadcast on monitors, while they are immersed in the experience of communicating news, sports or weather.
Hospital and Ambulance
Visiting the doctor or emergency room can be a stressful, anxiety-producing experience for many children. The opportunity to play in the Hospital and Ambulance allows them to express these feelings through role-play, while becoming familiar with the sequence of events during a visit to the doctor’s office.
Town Square Exhibits sponsored in part by:
