Pittsburgh’s MuseumLab acquires Chroma Maze as part of its 40th anniversary celebration
Courtesy of Pittsburgh Children's Museum
The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh celebrated its 40th anniversary last summer, adding new exhibits to captivate young minds through interactive play.
Lacey Murray, art exhibitions and residencies manager, said that those who have visited in the past will discover new reasons to return.
“We set out to find 40 new artworks to commemorate the milestone and in so doing, we stumbled on Pneuhaus, a Rhode-Island based studio which creates popups for outdoor events,” she said.
A meeting followed, along with a partnership that resulted in a site-specific piece created exclusively for the museum. The piece, titled Chroma Maze, is an impressively large-scale inflatable sculpture that has been installed at the MuseumLab located next door to the children’s museum.
“We’re thrilled to add yet another transformative experience for kids and youth to experience in MuseumLab. Exploring color in a fun and tactile way in Chroma Maze is a great addition to our exhibits for growing minds,” said Jane Werner, executive director.
Celebrating 40 Years
According to Max Pipman, senior director of communications and visitor experience, the museum has come a long way since its humble beginnings in the old Allegheny Post Office.
“It is now the region’s largest cultural campus for kids and attracts approximately 300,000 people per year. We have become a laboratory for educational experimentation and hands-on social and emotional learning,” he said, adding that MuseumLab, where Chroma Maze is located, has grown the museum’s impact and expanded its audience to older kids, who visit for cutting-edge experiences in art, tech and making.
Enjoyed by All Ages
The Chroma Maze is a shoes-off, socks on experience and circles around a path bathed in color that blends into new shades at each turn. Those who find their way to the sculpture’s center are rewarded with an environment where they can bounce, sit, or just lay back and enjoy light filtering through a mosaic-like ceiling.
Since it opened on Nov. 18, Murray has noticed it bringing smiles to the faces of both young and old.
“We wanted to provide experiences for a bit of an older audience as kids age out, but we’re finding that people of all ages are drawn to it,” said Murray, adding that she took her 16-month-old twins there and they enjoyed it.
Some of the benefits of the Chroma Maze, according to Murray, are gross motor skill development, meaning that it helps children develop balance, coordination and motor-sequencing skills.
“It promotes open-ended play and there are windows that you can peek through to observe the children, so it promotes intergenerational play as well,” she said.
According to Murray, the Chroma Maze is entirely safe: “The flooring is flat and soft and the bouncy area is like a pillow,” she said.
The piece fits into the museum’s mission to promote joy, creativity, curiosity and kindness, according to Murray, stating that the younger set, as they navigate the maze, can experience and react to various situations, like helping people when they fall, for instance.
“It’s open-ended things like this that children can learn from and are therefore true to our mission,” Murray said.
The exhibit is limited to 10 people at a time for safety reasons and so participants can enjoy the peace, according to Murray.
“It can probably fit 100, but we want to keep it fun and safe for everyone,” she said, adding that, as of yet, there has been no need for time limits.
Anne Fullenkamp, senior director of creative experiences, said the sheer size of Chroma Maze impresses both young and old.
“The size and scale are stunning as you enter MuseumLab. Once inside, you’re enveloped in a world of light and color that’s both exciting and meditative,” she said, adding that the museum is looking forward to hosting more people who may be curious about the work, which is a most fitting way to commemorate four decades of fun and learning.
The Chroma Maze sculpture is on exhibit through September of 2024 and can be seen at the MuseumLab next door to the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh located at 10 Children’s Way at the Allegheny Center neighborhood in Pittsburgh’s North Side. MuseumLab is free and is included in the price of admission to the Children’s Museum. Hours are Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5:00 p.m. Learn more by visiting the website at www.pittsburghkids.org.