HOT SPRINGS, Arkansas — Mid-America Science Museum will welcome back The Family Room beginning Sunday, March 1, 2026.
The in-house exhibit, located in the museum’s Hall of Wonder, runs through March 31 and is included with general admission.
First introduced in 2024, The Family Room was designed and built by the museum’s staff. The updated version expands on its original concept of intergenerational play, transforming familiar family activities into large-scale, hands-on challenges.
Returning favorites include a blanket fort building station using PVC pipes and blankets, pegboard marble machines, giant Connect 4 and tic-tac-toe, Baggo, KEVA planks, and a paper airplane challenge that invites guests to test their designs for distance and accuracy.
New additions this year include oversized building bricks, a magnetic jumbo Mr. Potato Head, a rainbow golf tee pegboard, a larger-than-life KerPlunk game, Light and Shadow Play, Paper Tube Towers, and a Noodle Wall where visitors can create pathways and structures using pool noodles arranged on a pegged surface.
“Our team started with the kinds of activities families already love to do together and thought about how we could make them bigger and more hands-on,” said Diane LaFollette, CEO of Mid-America Science Museum. “With spring break coming up, many families are looking for something fun they can experience together. This exhibit gives them the chance to build, experiment and play in the same space. When families are engaged, trying new things and figuring them out side by side, the learning happens naturally.”
Mid-America Science Museum is located at 500 Mid America Boulevard in Hot Springs. Tickets are available at midamericamuseum.org or by calling (501) 767-3461.
