The PortAventura theme park in Spain has announced it will develop PortAventura Dreams, a 9,000sq m (29,527sq ft) village of eight homes offering entertainment and fun for children with serious illnesses and their families. PortAventura Dreams, which is due to open in September, will cost around €3m (US$3.38m, £2.65m) to create. Families of up to six people will be offered six-day stays, free of charge, with access to PortAventura's three

The Arts District in El Paso, Texas is to welcome a new addition in the form of the El Paso Children’s Museum, which will sit between the El Paso Museum of History and the El Paso Museum of Art. Norway-based architectural practice Snøhetta have been selected to design the new museum, which will aim to engage children and families from El Paso, Ciudad Juarez, the American southwest, and the nearby

Architecture and planning practice FXCollaborative have been selected by the Children's Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) to transform a historic New York church into the attraction’s new home. The 1903 building, located on 96th Street in Manhattan, was originally designed by architects Carrère & Hastings to house the First Church of Christ, Scientist. The site has now been acquired by the museum, which wants to adapt it into “an ever-evolving place

Visitors to Chicago’s historic Navy Pier will soon be able to enjoy a new streamlined experience for its children’s museum, which is currently undergoing an extensive design overhaul. Reimagined by local firm Krueck+Sexton Architects (K+S), the Chicago Children’s Museum redevelopment plan calls for a cleaner, less cluttered appearance, with refreshed exhibition spaces and a significantly more streamlined visitor experience, relocating all access to the main floor of the museum. “The

The International Garden Festival has begun in Quebec’s Redford Gardens, with six award-winning garden installations open to the public for the first time. The projects – which were chosen ahead of 156 rival submissions in a special competition to be included in the 18th edition of the festival – are displayed alongside a number of other commissioned gardens created by more than 70 architects and landscape designers from various disciplines.

by Tom Anstey | 30 Jun 2016

NFL quarterback Andrew Luck is playing a part in creating a US$35m (€31.5m, £26m) hands-on indoor/outdoor sports exhibit for The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts star, who majored in architectural design, has been working with the museum and Ratio Architects to create the Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience, which he called a “sports utopia” that every child would want when it opens in Q2 2018. “For me,

by Kim Megson | 01 Mar 2016

Swiss architecture studio Evolution Design have unveiled their latest completed project: a village sports centre whose interiors are almost completely covered in vibrant primary colours. The walls and floor of the the Neumatt Centre’s main sports hall are bright green; the changing rooms are painted in rainbow-like shades of blue, yellow, red and orange; and large windows reflect the blue of the sky. “If you want to encourage people to

by Kim Megson | 26 Feb 2016

Japan is leading the way in the establishment of child-friendly cities with young people being given a say in the design of their urban environments. UNICEF launched its Child Friendly City (CFC) initiative in 1996 as a way of implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at local levels. Cities in which children are able to live happily and safely, express their opinions, influence decision making and

by Kim Megson | 08 Dec 2015

Mexico City’s Papalote Children’s Museum has unveiled the winning design for its future home; a forest-inspired building that promotes fun, exploration and discovery. Barcelona-based design studio MX_SI and Mexican firm SPRB were awarded first prize in the competition for the project, which attracted 171 entries from around the world. Construction is expected to begin early next year in Iztapalapa district. The new museum building – which will house an expanded

by Tom Anstey | 05 Oct 2015

Muzeiko – the first children’s museum to be built in post-Soviet Eastern Europe – has opened its doors to the public in Sofia, Bulgaria. Following two years of development, the Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership-designed (LHSA+DP) children’s science discovery centre has been conceived as a “journey moving through time and space”. The 35,000sq ft (3,250sq m) facility is set over three storeys. On the bottom floor, children can

by Jason Holland | 15 May 2015

Jack Rouse Associates (JRA) is finalising work on a science and technology focused children’s museum in the US ahead of its opening in Q3 of this year. JRA is providing final concept, schematic and detail design for the 8,000sq ft (743sq m) exhibit space at the US$6m (€5.3m, £3.8m) Children’s Museum of Siouxland in Sioux City, Iowa. Targeting children aged between six months and 10 years, the 15,000sq ft (1,394sq

by Jason Holland | 23 Apr 2015

An Australian national park could be designed by primary school pupils using the video game Minecraft. The government of South Australia has launched a competition asking students to create their perfect national park using the popular game, or to suggest changes to an existing state park. Minecraft allows players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D pixelated world. With AU$8.9m ($6.9m, €6.4m, £4.6m) set aside for park

by Tom Anstey | 21 Jan 2015

Minnesota Children’s Museum has revealed new renderings for its US$28m (€24.1m, £18.4m) expansion, designed to reimagine existing galleries, plus add new amenities and engaging activities for visitors. The expansion will increase the museum’s size to around 74,000sq ft (6,874sq m) and will include new interactive exhibits for children. Additional exhibits will include expanded air and water play space, as well as a new obstacle course comprising a four-storey climbing structure,

by Kath Hudson | 13 Sep 2012

Image: The Minnesota Children's Museum The Minnesota Children’s Museum is in line for a US$26m (£16m, 20m euro) revamp, which will include a physical adventure gallery, an entire floor dedicated to imagination and creativity and numerous galleries with content incorporating the latest research on early learning. Meyer Scherer & Rockcastle of Minneapolis have been appointed as design architects, who have more than 30 years’ experience designing spaces for children, including

by Pete Hayman | 02 Dec 2010

More than one million Lego bricks have been used to construct a new children's centre in Hillingdon, West London, which opened on 19 November. Legoland Windsor modellers and WHAT_architecture worked with Hillingdon Council to build the Cowley St Laurence facility. Children using the venue will be encouraged to use natural resources to play, while services will also include parenting support and financial advice. Hillingdon Council cabinet member for education and

by Pete Hayman | 30 Jun 2009

Tim Foster Architects has been appointed to redevelop Polka Children's Theatre in Wimbledon, south London, following a two-stage design competition and the completion of a feasibility study. Plans for the venue include the construction of a new domed structure at the rear of the site to house a new auditorium for children aged between one and five-years-old, while the existing auditorium will be remodelled. The Polka Children's Theatre scheme also