At Brooklyn Children’s Museum kids romp around inside play-sized storefronts and climb through a bird nest–inspired playscape. Soon, a planned garden will bring the play and interactive elements the museum is known for outdoors. Design firm Gans and Company is shepherding the project which will add 20,000 square feet of accessible, programmable space to the museum’s campus.
The project, which broke ground this week, is the first component of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum’s Earth Science Garden, a scheme that envisions an outdoor exhibit where little ones explore and learn about the geological makeup of the ground beneath their feet.
To make way for the new, accessible green space a greenhouse and several trees will be removed from the site. An existing retaining wall, built in the 1970s, located on the south and east end of the museum’s campus is really the focal point of this first renovation stage. Gans and Company has worked up a plan to replace the failing retaining wall to allow access to a portion of the property located in adjacent Brower Park.
This hillside, with an 18-foot drop largely formed by the retaining wall, will be covered with native plantings. All the vegetation is typical of the plant life found on “steep terrains,” and includes meadow and riparian grasses and pine. According to a press release from the Department of Design and Construction, 20 plant species, 41 trees, and more than 800 shrubs will be planted.
Complementing this abundance of greenery will be pathways and steps formed out of stone, and colored and striated concrete. Similar to the native plantings, these hard surfaces call to mind the region’s geology.
An accessible ramp with a paved surface and railing will meander up the slope, as an alternative to the stone steps nestled into the hillside. On a more technical note, the new landscape scheme incorporates a drainage system and considers stormwater management. Lighting installed around the site will allow for evening events.
Brooklyn Children’s Museum anticipates the new outdoor space as a gathering place for patrons. It will serve as a place of respite, while also a new venue for the museum to host programs and continue its mission to “ignite curiosity, celebrate identity and cultivate joyful learning.”
Financial support for the project comes from more than $15 million in city funds allocated by the Mayor’s office, City Council, and the Brooklyn Borough President’s office. Shovels have already broken ground on the project and completion is anticipated for winter 2025.
