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Brooklyn Children's Museum Turns NYC Eyesore Into a Magical Playground for Kids

Experience In the Works to see how the city’s everyday structures can become spaces for discovery and play.
Experience In the Works to see how the city’s everyday structures can become spaces for discovery and play.
1/6/25 - By Jordana Drell Herman

Like many other New Yorkers, I’ve always viewed scaffolding is a nuisance, but the always enchanting Brooklyn Children's Museum has managed to change my perception of this omnipresent piece of city architecture with its magical, playful, new exhibit In the Works.

This one-of-a-kind installation—that mimics the ubiquitious sidewalk structures familiar to many a New Yorker—is a dream come true for little explorers, offering endless opportunities to climb, slide, crawl, and interact with the city in totally unexpected ways. Read on for our take on this fun, new exhibit that's a great way to beat the cold-weather blues, and find more indoor places to play in our NYC Kids Guide to Indoor Playgrounds, Play Spaces, and Fun Zones.

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Brooklyn Children's Museum's In the Works: View of the exhibit
In the Works re-imagines familiar construction sites as a vibrant, safe spaces for discovery.

Exploring In the Works

My daughter loved the bright, colorful structures made from scaffolding and construction materials (the kind you normally can’t touch!) reimagined as an epic indoor playground. Kids can discover hidden nooks and ramps made from common construction materials or slide down fun chutes while gaining a whole new perspective on the city.

Even cooler: The installation—which runs through Sunday, May 11—is meant to evolve! Families can take part in special workshops and leave their creative mark on the space, turning this exhibit into a collaborative masterpiece.

Created by the NYC-based artists of Yeju & Chat (Yeju Choi and Chat Travieso), In the Works is as visually stunning as it is fun. The bright colors and industrial materials create a vibrant, energetic vibe that captures the spirit of New York City. The name itself is a clever nod to construction in progress and the idea of being part of an art installation that’s constantly growing.

Brooklyn Children's Museum's In the Works: Girl on the slide
Kids can climb, slide, and crawl through colorful structures while discovering hidden nooks, all made from scaffolding components and common construction materials.

Why In the Works Is an All-Ages Pleaser

Parents will love it because not only is it a blast, but it’s also educational! Kids build spatial awareness, flex their creativity, and learn to see the urban environment in new and exciting ways.

Designed for children ages 2 and up, the exhibit has something for everyone—from toddlers to tweens. My daughter donned a hard hat and vest and played with everything from a bucket on the pulley to a wheelbarrow and even chased me around the multilevel structure.

After you’ve explored In the Works, check out more of what the Brooklyn Children’s Museum has to offer, including its seasonal ArtRink. It’s worth the extra $5 ticket, and it was a delight sliding around in booties and not worrying about falling on the ice!

Photos by the author

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