Children's Museums

SkyClimber and Port

Port Discovery Children's Museum

This venerable discovery kids museum located in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor had long entertained hundreds of thousands of visitors with a massive climbing structure located in its three-story central concourse. Building on its successful master plan completed two years earlier, Roto set off to design, engineer, fabricate and install the replacement for this 20-year-old favorite.

Services

  • Conceptual and exhibit design
  • Structural engineering and compliance
  • Prototyping, testing, completed fabrication
  • Installation and intensive on-site integration
Port Discovery Children's Museum SkyClimber and Port Roto Design Build
Port Discovery Ship Design-Build Roto
Port Discovery Children's Museum SkyClimber and Port design and build by Roto

The marquee experience is a dual-sided sixty-foot climbing structure stretching from beneath the waves through the atmosphere and into the clouds. Children of all ages navigate the platforms with increasing levels of physical and emotional courage, and meet within a sanctuary at the top. One can climb back down the other side, or take the corkscrew slide – the tallest stainless steel indoor slide on the East Coast.

Port Discovery Children's Museum SkyClimber and Port design and build by Roto
Port Discovery Children's Museum SkyClimber and Port design and build by Roto
Port Discovery Children's Museum SkyClimber and Port design and build by Roto

Centered on the SkyClimber is a giant ship in port, recapturing the museum’s unique brand and echoing the original purpose of the Port Discovery building as Baltimore’s famous fish market. Here, children manipulate hundreds of foam “containers” using various means of lifting, dropping, and transporting, while engaging in pretend-play activities on deck and in the engine room.

Port Discovery Children's Museum SkyClimber and Port design and build by Roto
Port Discovery Children's Museum SkyClimber and Port design and build by Roto
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