Otherwise, Memorial Hall's mix of big and small rooms works perfectly as a children's museum, offering both vast spaces where kids can run wild and cozy corners for quieter pursuits. The grand architecture does for play what it has previously done for the edifying pursuits of culture: It elevates the experience. It could even cause this Please Touch generation to demand better architecture in adulthood.
The wildly imaginative exhibits were all designed by Montreal's Design + Creation, and executed by Michigan's Design Craftsmen. I only wish the pink-and-lavender cafeteria served the drink that made Alice shrink, then I might have fit perfectly into the Wonderland maze, a thrilling contortion of space that may be the best experience in the house. Fortunately, size isn't an issue at the Flying Machine exhibit, where you assemble styrofoam planes and send them soaring on jets of air. The rocket structure is perfectly proportioned to the tall narrow room, and is a work of architecture in its own right.