Norwalk, CT
Opened March 2000

Stepping Stones Museum for Children opened in Norwalk, Connecticut in March 2000 and is already regularly attracting and delighting more than a thousand visitors a day. Stepping Stones‘ exhibits and programs target children ages 0-10. JKA worked in close collaboration with the museum's staff and advisers and with Centerbrook Architects to plan and design the museum’s four family-friendly thematic zones – Waterscape, In The Works, Express Yourself! and I Spy Connecticut – as well its Early Learner gallery, Toddler Terrain.

In the Works

Express Yourself!

<click on images to see them larger>

Toddler Terrain        

Some of the highlights of the Stepping Stones visitor experience:

The ColorCoaster, conceived as a major attraction for the museum’s ‘hub’ area and as the springboard for open-ended play and exploration in the adjacent In the Works Gallery, is a commissioned interactive sculpture by artist/inventor George Rhoads.

Waterscape is an innovative take on a classic children’s museum activity area; the room itself transforms through a visitor-triggered cycle of rains, fog, mist and ice, offering children a chance to experience water in all its forms.

Express Yourself! presents activities and experiences touching on the human urge for self expression against a multicultural backdrop, emphasizing similarities and differences in ways people of different cultures communicate universally felt emotions and unique individual thoughts.

I Spy Connecticut offers varied perspectives on the museum’s home state from the air, sea and land, featuring role playing and hands-on exploration in large scale replicas of a helicopter, a research submarine and a commuter train.

I Spy Connecticut