Put on your hard hat and safety vest and get to work at Building Buddies, the latest exhibit at the Flint Hills Discovery Center. Available with standard admission, Building Buddies is open during regular museum hours now through January 4, 2026. In addition to the new exhibit, mark your calendar for the Builders Bash on October 18, featuring a book giveaway, hands-on activities and touch-a-truck experiences that will delight builders of all ages.
Building Buddies
The Building Buddies exhibit is filled with different houses and work spaces, each focused on a different part of construction or home renovation. Haul soft foam blocks up a bucket pulley to build on the second story of a house. When you’re done building, drop them down the trash chute into a wheelbarrow to take to a new project. Crank the handle to send blocks up a conveyor belt. Crawl through a construction tunnel on your way to create a pattern using kid friendly tiles. Use the measuring table to make sure your magnetic siding will properly fill the wall. Drop wooden balls down pipes, then rearrange the magnetic pieces to design a new track. Lay a path of turf and pavers, or head inside to hang Velcro curtains and “paint” the wall with touch light panels.
Don’t forget about the landscaping! Create a garden display by hanging foam flowers, leaves and butterflies. Pets are also taken care of when you fit the roof pieces and build up walls on a dog house.
This exhibit is a great blend of being accessible to young children, but able to be elevated for older kids. The building materials themselves – blocks, pavers, tiles – are either soft, lightweight or flexible. Toddlers can tote them around, and nobody will be hurt when a big kid’s elaborate construction comes tumbling down. It seemed like there were a ton of blocks available, so all the different building areas could be played with at the same time.
The walls are decorated with photos of the construction of the Flint Hills Discovery Center, which is a neat real-life connection to the exhibit. See if you can identify what’s being built in each picture! This exhibit is sure to be a hit for high-energy indoor play, especially in the upcoming cold months.
Future Exhibits
After Building Buddies, the Stepping Into the Prairie exhibit will return from January to May – this one was a favorite with my son last year! Then go back in time to Roar and Explore with Dinosaurs from May to September. This lineup could be a good time to consider a membership, especially considering the reciprocal benefits at other ASTC science centers and museums both in Kansas and nationwide.
