New bilingual gallery is expanding audience, engagement, and imagination by design

As we step into a new year, we’re reflecting on the projects that shaped us and the partnerships that are moving museums toward a more imaginative, inclusive future.

One of the most energizing examples is The Goizueta Children’s Experience at the Atlanta History Center (AHC), a 5,000-square-foot gallery that opened last January and continues to grow its impact month after month. Designed and built by Roto to evolve annually, it feels especially fitting to celebrate a space centered on renewal at a time of year when reinvention is top of mind.

Described as a “game-changer” by AHC President & CEO Sheffield Hale, the experience represents a new chapter for AHC and a meaningful evolution in how children and families engage with cultural spaces. It welcomes families with children of all ages and abilities into the museum as active participants and delivers an imaginative and inclusive environment where kids can explore Atlanta’s vibrant history, people, arts, and culture on their own terms.

“We weren’t just designing exhibits,” says Roto Partner Elizabeth Fleming. “We were designing an invitation, one that says to families, especially those who haven’t visited before: this place is for you.”

Roto served as the museum’s full design-build partner, providing exhibit planning, immersive media, interactive engineering, and custom fabrication.

Built for Play, Designed for Change

At the center of the gallery’s innovation is its modularity. After an initial 18-month debut, the gallery will rotate to a new theme on an annual basis. Graphics, interactives, and layouts were designed for efficient transformation, allowing AHC to deliver fresh content for repeat visitors while maintaining long-term sustainability.

“Very few museums have taken the leap to build a renewable gallery model at this scale,” says Fleming. “It allows AHC to continually serve their audience with timely, relevant stories, without rebuilding from scratch each time.”

“Storytelling was as intentional as the design,” says Shatavia Elder, VP of Education. While the gallery will physically change each year, the rotating themes remain rooted in Atlanta’s geography, people, arts & culture, and innovation—ensuring the city’s story continues to unfold in new ways.

The debut installation, Our Great Big City, invites children to explore Atlanta through a playful lens. Iconic landmarks, sensory-rich interactives, and creative play areas come together to tell the story of the city in ways that are approachable, fully bilingual, and bursting with imagination. One of the gallery’s most beloved features, the Time Machine Climber, encourages active exploration and remains consistent across rotating themes.

A New Kind of Welcome

From the outset, Roto and AHC worked together to ensure that the gallery would reflect Atlanta’s richly diverse communities. With a focus on bilingual access, intuitive wayfinding, and culturally familiar references, Roto’s design reflects that sense of welcome in every detail.

All signage, media, and print materials are presented fully in both English and Spanish, with visual parity between languages. The result is a welcoming environment for Atlanta’s bilingual families and a visible signal of institutional inclusion.

“The Goizueta Children’s Experience brings our mission to life in a new way. It helps children see themselves in history, and it creates a space where families of all backgrounds feel like they belong here,” says Elder.

Flexible seating, decompression zones, and layered experiences support families with children at different stages. Older kids can take on more complex challenges while toddlers engage in simpler, parallel play nearby. The design encourages collaboration and shared discovery without forcing a one-size-fits-all approach.

Engaging Young Historians

Our Great Big City introduces children to Atlanta’s most iconic local landmarks as platforms for play. In the Mini Fox Theatre, kids step into the spotlight and perform on a scaled stage modeled after Atlanta’s historic venue. Custom-made characters, Click and Chime, serve as mascots and guides designed to animate the space and build brand recognition.

Nearby, they can explore Tiny Toddler Town, inspired by neighborhood streetscapes, or try the Varsity’s Silly Scent Station, a whimsical nod to Atlanta’s legendary drive-in.

In the Creator Hub, children craft puppets from tactile materials and bring them to life on stage. Paper templates invite visitors to construct 3D buildings and vehicles, creating their own miniature Atlanta.

“We’re really proud that the Creator Hub, filled with low-tech, tactile activities, is one of the most heavily used parts of the gallery, not only by the public but also for museum programs and school groups,” says Kelsey Russell, Roto Project Manager.

Throughout the design process, the Roto team evaluated language and concepts directly with children, revising terminology and adjusting content based on feedback.

A Joyful Gateway to Lifelong Learning

Since opening, the gallery has exceeded expectations. Membership goals were surpassed within three months, admissions rose 54 percent between January and July, and more than 3,000 new members joined in the first four months.

“As an institution, this gallery changed what we thought was possible and is influencing how we think about our future,” says Elder, who sees the gallery as part of a broader evolution:

“The Goizueta Children’s Experience is more than a gallery. It’s a platform for growth, a bridge to new audiences, and a joyful launchpad for the next generation of museum lovers.”

For Roto, it’s also a fitting reflection of what the new year represents: transformation, creativity, and connection.

Looking Ahead

As Roto looks to 2025 and beyond, The Goizueta Children’s Experience stands as both a celebration and a promise: a reminder that every new story, every fresh idea, and every young visitor can spark a ripple of renewal. The year ahead will bring new projects, new partners, and new opportunities to create spaces where curiosity and connection thrive.

And that, at its heart, is what Roto’s work, and every new year, is all about.

A Joyful Gateway for Future Historians: Roto Reimagines the Children’s Experience at Atlanta History Center

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