Plan Your Weekend: Gingerbread Adventures

Posted in Programs and Events on December 5 2008, by Plant Talk

The Imagination Behind Its New Look

Kevin Peterson, Assistant Manager of the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, is responsible for the design and fabrication of exhibits in the Children’s Garden.

We had a great time creating the new decor for Gingerbread Adventures in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. We had wanted to do something a little different for its seventh season. I sat down with Jim Storm, senior museum technician, to brainstorm about the project, and we began to develop some initial ideas. Next, I did some preliminary sketches of a gingerbread town on a roll of vellum. Those series of drawings were the launching pad for the new look. As we started building, our concepts continued to evolve, we continued to collaborate, and Gingerbread Town took on a life of its own.

One aspect of our design was to have the gingerbread people look like they were occasionally popping out of the wall and existing in “our” space as well as having their own adventure. As it became a 3D reality, some things had to be reworked from the drawings because of the limitations of the physical space. The timeline was also very challenging: We started in early August and just kept plowing away at it until we installed it the week before Thanksgiving.

We completed the city scene first and then moved onto the country and farm scenes. Next came the gingerbread couple ice-skating under a cookie moon. But maybe I should stop there so I don’t give it all away. Jim and I were able to add pigment to caulk so we could “frost” the gingerbread people and make other objects look like big cookies. It was quite successful in that the gingerbread people and their world really do look good enough to eat. We wanted to have kids feel as if they walked into a fun-filled fantasy world and to light up their eyes and to spur their imaginations. We wanted a world that made them feel good. One little boy who visited made sure he said goodbye to all his gingerbread friends before he left the Adventure Garden. That was pretty nice.

Gingerbread Town in Gingerbread Adventures is made from plywood, papier-mâché, and paint, and most importantly, a lot of imagination. Albert Einstein said “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” And I think that’s especially true with this undertaking, which was an adventure in itself. It started with just a few drawings and the belief that we could really transform the Discovery Center for the holiday season. Hopefully, everyone will enjoy their Gingerbread!

Check out Saturday’s programming.

Check out Sunday’s programming.