Gateway Park
Set just outside our main building, this half-acre visitor park is the perfect place for planning your journey through our outdoor exhibits. Nature-based climbers complete with rope walks, climbing webs, and balance logs beckon the brave and curious.
Be sure to take a swing through Sound Garden before you start your adventures through the park!
Gateway Park was funded by generous donors to our Climbing Higher campaign.
Learn the Ropes!
The Gateway Climber, a custom climbing structure created for the Museum, encourages you to take risks, test abilities, and maybe even discover new skills. Test out your ninja skills—can you traverse the whole climber from end to end?
Slip Sliding Away
Our extra wide hillside slide can accommodate several riders at a time. Young visitors can improve their balance and gross motor skills as they make their way to the top.
Diggers and Dumptrucks
Save time for the 500-square-foot sand play area with diggers and oversized trucks. There's even a digger that you can control!
Climbing builds brains
Climbing can help build muscles, but there’s one body part it’s especially good for—brains! Climbing lets young children improve their coordination, balance, and agility, as well as hone their gross motor skills. When they explore structures like our nontraditional Gateway Climber, they make choices about where to climb that help develop decision making, spatial awareness, and memory skills.
