Explorium Denton, a children’s museum in Denton, Texas, has been inspiring creativity, collaboration, and open-ended play with Imagination Playground Big Blue Blocks for more than six years. Long before the museum had a permanent building to call home, founder and former Executive Director Anyah Brittain secured a community grant to purchase the iconic foam blocks and bring hands-on play experiences directly into the community.
Using the portability of the Big Blue Blocks, the museum introduced collaborative play experiences at farmers’ markets, shopping malls, camps, and community events while raising awareness and support for the future museum space. From the beginning, Explorium Denton’s philosophy has remained clear: quality play experiences and safe play resources should be accessible to all children, not treated as a luxury.
Today, Explorium Denton features a dedicated Big Blue Block exhibit space where children and families build, create, and imagine together every day. According to Executive Director Dinora, the Blue Block area has become one of the museum’s most valuable interactive learning environments because it encourages creativity, teamwork, emotional expression, and confidence-building through play.
How Big Blue Blocks Support Social-Emotional Learning
At Explorium Denton, the Blue Block area is more than just a building space — it is also used to support social-emotional learning through play. Museum staff are trained to use the blocks as tools for helping children work through big emotions, practice self-regulation, and build confidence in a safe and creative environment.
Using collaborative prompts and positive redirection strategies, staff members help children channel their energy into imaginative building activities that encourage problem-solving, communication, and emotional growth.
When young builders complete a creation they are especially proud of, they can have their photo added to the museum’s “Blue Block Builders” wall — a celebration of creativity and accomplishment that helps reinforce self-esteem and confidence.
As Dinora explains:
“Seeing the proud faces the kiddos have once they have built something new and ‘made it’ on the wall is priceless. The Blue Blocks are a catalyst for building a child’s self-esteem.”
Bringing Open-Ended Play Into the Community
Although Explorium Denton now has a permanent museum location, the Big Blue Blocks still travel into the community for outreach programs, camps, and recruitment events.
Because of their lightweight design, durability, and easy cleaning process, the blocks are one of the few museum exhibits that can easily be transported to schools and public events. Dinora says the Big Blue Blocks are always her first choice for community outreach because they instantly engage children and families of all ages.
“The Blocks are versatile and serve different purposes and are worth all of the smiles and giggles they give,” she explains.
These mobile play experiences help introduce more children and families to the benefits of:
- loose-parts play
- collaborative learning
- imaginative play
- STEM exploration
- active movement
- creative problem-solving
How Big Blue Blocks Encourage Collaboration Across Ages
One of the most unique aspects of the Big Blue Block exhibit at Explorium Denton is the way it naturally encourages children of different ages to work together.
Dinora frequently observes toddlers, older children, teenagers, and parents all building side-by-side. The blocks inspire visitors to create forts, robots, obstacle courses, and even imaginative catapults through collaborative experimentation and storytelling.
According to Dinora, the Blue Blocks seem to “magically encourage collaboration,” helping children communicate, cooperate, and build together in ways that traditional toys and fixed playground equipment often cannot.
Parents also become active participants in the experience, rediscovering creativity and curiosity as they build alongside their children.
Why Museums Love Big Blue Blocks
For children’s museums and interactive learning spaces, Imagination Playground Big Blue Blocks offer a unique combination of:
- durability
- portability
- open-ended creativity
- multi-age engagement
- sensory-friendly play
- collaborative learning opportunities
Dinora believes few educational play products compare to the versatility and long-term value of the blocks.
“In my experience as a mother and as a museum director, there is not much out there that can compare in all categories of durability, open-endedness, and age-range to the Big Blue Blocks. The Blocks invite the whole family to join in and they bring tremendous value to our museum.”
Visit Explorium Denton
If you are visiting Denton, Texas, make sure to stop by Explorium Denton to experience the creativity, collaboration, and hands-on learning made possible through open-ended play and Imagination Playground Big Blue Blocks.
Until then — BUILD ON!
Considering Big Blue Blocks for Your School or Community Space?
Imagination Playground’s Big Blue Blocks are used in schools, museums, parks, libraries, and community spaces around the world to create engaging environments for collaborative, open-ended play.
If you’re considering Big Blue Blocks for your school, park, museum, or community space, schedule a consultation with our team to explore the right play solution for your environment.