The Springfield Museums is proud to present Splash and Bubbles: Dive In, Lend a Fin!, opening Saturday, November 6, in the Wood Museum of Springfield History. The new exhibit is based on the popular PBS KIDS TV show, Splash and Bubbles, a hit animated series that encourages children to explore ocean science and marine biology through character-driven comedy. The series is co-produced by The Jim Henson Company and Herschend Entertainment Studios. The new exhibition builds on kids’ connections to the characters and their habitats, immersing them in a larger-than-life marine environment and introducing them to the incredible world of ocean exploration.
“This is a spectacular exhibit,” said Larissa Murray, Director of Education at the Springfield Museums. “We needed one of our largest display areas to accommodate its size, and chose the SIS Hall in the Wood Museum of Springfield History. Plenty of room to play and jump right into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning.”
While exploring the early childhood STEM-based exhibit, children will be encouraged to build both scientific inquiry and social-emotional skills as they learn how to protect the ocean and its ecosystems. Ocean conservation is a key message within the exhibit, encouraging families to understand that they can create “a small ripple to help our big ocean.” Featuring a variety of hands-on exhibit components, Splash and Bubbles: Dive In, Lend a Fin! invites children to discover a whole new world as they navigate an under-the-sea maze in a kelp forest, explore a sunken ship that has become an artificial reef, interact with puppet characters created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, become a Reeftown Ranger to learn to protect the ocean, and more!
“Splash and Bubbles is all about learning while having fun,” said Kay Simpson, President and CEO of the Springfield Museums. “And it will be a perfect complement to our Gingerbread: Under the Sea exhibit which opens November 26.”
The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum served as the creative producers for the new exhibit, created in partnership with The Jim Henson Company and Herschend Enterprises. Splash and Bubbles: Dive In, Lend A Fin! marks the third traveling exhibit produced by The Magic House in partnership with The Jim Henson Company and the first with Herschend Enterprises.
Splash and Bubbles: Dive In, Lend a Fin! is made possible thanks to generous support from Tim and Elizabeth Swank, Anna and Jim McKelvey and the Graybar Foundation.