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CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF MANHATTAN ANNOUNCES OPENING OF OUTDOOR WATER EXHIBIT, “DYNAMIC H2O”

Interactive Exhibit, Which Celebrates Water and Explores the Incredible Story of How New York City Gets its Supply from Upstate, Opens Memorial Day and Runs through September

New York, NY – May 15, 2017 – The Children’s Museum of Manhattan today announced the opening of Dynamic H2O, an outdoor water exhibit offering children of all ages and their families a fun place to chill while they learn how New York City gets its water and the role water plays in in our local environment. The exhibit in the Sussman Environmental Center at the Children’s Museum (212 West 83rd Street), which made a huge splash with visitors when it debuted last season, reopens May 27 and runs through September, weather permitting.

The exhibit, which features hands-on interactives and fresh, colorful graphics, dives into NYC’s water supply system, which delivers about 1.1 billion gallons per day to 9.5 million New Yorkers, and whose world-class drinking water travels downhill from upstate watersheds extending more than 125 miles from the city.

The exhibit features a 16-foot interactive water table that lets children trace the path of New York City’s water as they play and explore. The experience begins with the water cycle in the clouds. Children can release a rain shower and place small floating droplets in the resulting river as water moves downstream toward the city. There’s also an area where kids can create waterfalls, build dams and pretend to fish. Opportunities for discovery continue as the water streams toward a build-your-own city that awaits future engineers and architects.

“Dynamic H2O, offer families more than a place to cool off. We use fun, age-appropriate programs and activities to introduce children to the importance of water, as well to familiarize them with the marine life of our rivers, and with even water-related careers,” said Andrew Ackerman, Children’s Museum’s executive director. “We worked closely with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection to ensure that the exhibit’s content is scientifically accurate as well as entertaining.”

“We are thrilled that this exciting, interactive exhibit is returning to the Children’s Museum of Manhattan to teach young people about the engineering marvel that is New York’s City’s water supply system,” said DEP Acting Commissioner Vincent Sapienza.

Additional highlights of the 800-square-foot, three-level exhibit include:

• An interactive of NYC buildings designed to help children understand how gravity and pumps are essential in providing water to houses and skyscrapers across the city
• Magnetic tubes that can carry water allow visitors to create the aqueducts and tunnels that transport the water from upstate to NYC. Children will be challenged to piece together enough pipes to span the “100 miles” from the Catskills to the city.
• Outdoor laboratories where children can enjoy inquiry-based exploration, assuming the roles of some the people involved in maintaining NYC’s water supply including marine biologists, ecologists and other scientists.

A full range of educator-led workshops will occur throughout the exhibit’s run.

Dynamic H2O was made possible in part by Carolyn Tisch Blodgett and Will Blodgett, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Additional support for education programs was provided by the Catskill Watershed Corporation in partnership with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

For more information about the exhibit, please visit www.cmom.org

About Children’s Museum of Manhattan

The Children’s Museum of Manhattan – a citywide resource for children, families and educators – works to ensure children thrive at home, at school and in the community. Based on West 83rd Street, with over 350,000 visitors annually, the Museum creates hands-on learning environments, programs, and curricula through an alchemy of fun, research and museum science. In addition to its commitment to delight and educate visitors, the Museum offers resources and strategies for parents, caregivers, and educators to help children become lifelong learners. Thousands more New Yorkers also benefit from the Museum’s offering through its outreach programs at schools, Head Start centers, shelters, libraries and hospitals. For more information, please visit www.cmom.org.