“It’s a springboard for provoking more curiosity,”  says Matt Woodside, chief curator and director of exhibitions at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, which plays host to the newest adventure-seeking, science-celebrating, imagination-inspiring exhibit: the Mosaic Backyard Universe. Picture a 1960s Brady Bunch yard with multicolored and hypoallergenic AstroTurf, hand-painted murals depicting Florida storm clouds, live turtles and plants in a freshwater feature, a DMX theatrical lighting system to simulate lightning and sunsets, and somewhere a Smilodon patiently lies silent, ready to be unearthed from the Dig Pit. Step off the back porch into the highly immersive Mosaic Backyard Universe, an unparalleled adventure for all explorers, ages two to gray.

THE BISHOP WELCOMES A FIELD TRIP OF VISITORS IN ITS NEWLY-OPENED MOSAIC BACKYARD UNIVERSE. PHOTO BY WYATT KOSTYGAN.

Spaceship

Remember the good ole days when a quality refrigerator box was the only prop needed for an adventurous afternoon? Soar up, up and away in this refrigerator-style spaceship as Apollo 11 transmissions guide your ascent. The suspended solar system has been sized to scale, with an eight-foot Jupiter floating amongst hand-painted constellations. 

Tree House-Platform 

Look up. Look down. Look all around. With a glass base as a portal into the root system and soft-to-the-touch handmade, silk leaves as a canopy, the fabricated Southern Live Oak transforms the exhibit atrium into an exploration of backyard nature. A wraparound platform places you high in the sky amongst bird calls and pull-out panels that explain water systems and the rings of time, while telescopes peer deep into space in the opposite corner of the exhibit. 

Science Shed

A space designated for facilitated and independent learning, the Science Shed will lead active learning workshops while also providing expedition kits with notebooks, art supplies, scales and microscopes available for checkout.