Children’s Discovery Zone is an entire museum, one of several independent museums within the enormous King Abulaziz Center complex in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Designed from the ground-up as a premium family learning experience for a culture new to the concept of children’s museums in general, the CDZ blends arts, nature, creativity and culture for school age children and their caregivers.
Services
- Conceptual planning and organization
- Exhibit design and development
- Theming design and integration
- Complete architectural fit-out and MEP engineering
The original design for CDZ was organized around an enormous central tree sculpture, with winding ramps enabling full ADA and stroller access, capped by a canopy of more than 10,000 individually-controlled illuminated spheres as “leaves.” Crowning the tree is a monorail on which visitors could ride a themed dragonfly unicycle. Other innovative activities allow visitors to change the colors of the canopy, and transform the mood of the entire museum.
Rather than importing children’s exhibits from the West, Roto created all-new experiences for CDZ localized around the Saudi culture, and specifically designed for the learning styles of Muslim families. Creativity exhibits included an emphasis on Islamic Arts.
