Curio Exploration Hub
Stephanie: Play is at the heart of everything a child does.
I was in San Francisco traveling with my family and we visited the Bay Area Discovery Museum. My children were in love with all of the exhibits and all of the resources. I realized that we don’t have very many opportunities for children to explore S.T.E.A.M. concepts here in Simcoe County. Curio will be a children’s museum with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, art and math or S.T.E.A.M.
Madison: We took on this Curio project not only because we really loved Stephanie and her excitement and passion, but I really believed in this project. There’s been such a great collaboration. I think we have a lot of the same philosophies on how we want to raise our kids and this has just been the perfect project for us to be able to bring that to life.
Stephanie: With Madison’s aesthetic and my vision for child-led play, it felt like it was going to be a natural connection. The plan with Curio is to organize the space into a series of different exploration hubs. In each of those hubs we’ll have a curated collection of exhibits, toys and resources that will allow children to immerse themselves in play based learning.
Madison: One of the most important things for us with this design was creating a space that was calm. Just to bring in a little bit of color but also not create an overwhelming environment. We use natural blonde woods, white and gray concrete and grass. It really allowed these exhibits to stand out like the hot-air balloon and the bow trees. As a mom with really young kids I find that I’m constantly looking for a really cool and unique experiences for my children. It just feels really good to be able to create something like this that’s really going to benefit the Simcoe County area.
Stephanie: We want to pull from traditional education and traditional recreation and find a space in the middle of that where kids can come and learn but they’re playing. My name is Stephanie and I’m the founder of Curio Exploration Hub. A place where children go to wonder, explore, create and be curious.