Build big at Long Island Children's Museum

Excitement is building as we head into Fourth of July weekend. All ages can find meaning and inspiration in this milestone 250th anniversary: even play takes on a patriotic twist. Long Island Children’s Museum provides young visitors a hands-on way to connect with America’s story as only kids can — by building and imagining. Through creativity and play, children can explore the country’s landscapes, wildlife and enduring symbols that are found in the museum’s “Red, White & Blue Blocks” exhibition.

            At its core, the exhibit, which runs through Sept. 6, is built around a concept children readily understand. For Aimee Terzulli, the museum’s vice president of program and visitor experience, the best way to introduce young visitors to the 250th anniversary was to frame it as a birthday celebration — one on a truly grand scale.

            “Birthdays are such a big part of what kids love,” Terzulli says. “We wanted to recognize and really lean into the celebration.”

            The exhibit features large blue foam building blocks paired with red, white and blue accessories that encourage open-ended creativity. Inspired by the stars and stripes of the American flag, block building lets kids imagine what futures they will build together. 

            Throughout the first floor gallery space, prompts invite families to build birthday cakes, create monuments and design perches for bald eagles, our national bird.

            The museum also incorporated an environmental and geographic component by highlighting animals native to the United States.

            Large murals showcase species including buffalo, elk, mountain goats, beavers and alligators, while children can use animal puppets and blocks to create habitats inspired by each creature’s natural environment.

            “This country is just so beautiful,” Terzulli says. “There are so many environmental aesthetics and animals that are indigenous just to America.”

            Everyone is encouraged to study the murals for inspiration and think critically about the environments different animals call home. Some may build rugged mountain landscapes for goats, while others design swampy habitats for alligators complete with rivers and marshes. What begins as a building exercise often opens the door to deeper discussions about ecosystems and the natural world.

            “It’s really beautiful to see families looking at the murals and saying, ‘I don’t know if I’ve spent enough time traveling America’” Terzulli continues. “Our landscape is so unique.”

            The exhibit’s open-ended design encourages children to chart their own creative paths. While some build patriotic displays or towering birthday cakes, others tackle ambitious engineering projects, from roller coasters to replicas of famous landmarks. No two building sessions look quite the same.

            Terzulli recalls one child attempting to recreate Mount Rushmore with the oversized foam blocks. Other visitors have become fascinated with beavers, constructing dams after discovering the important role the animals play in shaping ecosystems.

            “The beautiful thing is they’re organic, and they allow the learning to spring up for whatever the family’s interest is,” she adds.

            One particularly popular challenge involves designing perches for bald eagles.

approach, according to Terzulli, reflects the museum’s broader vision for its America 250 programming — one that emphasizes exploration and celebration rather than history lessons. Her team intentionally took a different approach from many America 250 initiatives, focusing less on historical interpretation and more on helping children celebrate and connect with the country in age-appropriate ways.

            “We’re not really doing the historical element,” she explains. “We felt like we’d leave that to historical homes and foundations. Ours is more about our country’s birthday.”

            Beyond play, the exhibit and its companion programs are intended to foster shared family memories that can last a lifetime. Terzulli vividly remembers celebrating America’s Bicentennial in 1976 as a child and relates that today’s young visitors may someday reflect on the nation’s 250th birthday with similar fondness.

            “I remember wearing a little bonnet and making a poster that said 1776 and marching with my siblings and cousins in [this] parade,” she recalls. “I want kids to remember where they were; so that when they’re my age, they’ll have a reflective moment.”

            At its heart the exhibit is designed to foster the kinds of shared experiences that families carry with them long after the blocks have been put away. Amid the excitement surrounding America’s 250th, Terzulli sees the celebration as an opportunity to pause, connect and find joy together.