The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has set a date for the opening of the new 81st Street Studio children’s education space created by KOKO Architecture + Design.

This September 9th will see the daylong dedication festival for the new learning center, which takes over a renovated space in the museum’s Harold D. Uris Center for Education. The 3,500-square-foot design will offer free activities to children ages 3–11 and their caregivers, offering itself as an “interactive space that reimagines how the Museum can inspire exploration of its encyclopedic collection, amplify curiosity, and create new experiences for The Met’s youngest visitors.”

Museum director Max Hollein says: ”This is a project that was made possible by so many and with strong support to create something unique for our younger audiences.”

“Education is a critical — and very exciting — part of The Met’s mission, and we are proud to open the extraordinary new 81st Street Studio and further advance our role as a tremendously engaging resource for local and global communities,” he added. “Through immersive activities, the Studio inspires children to explore connections between art and science, which is so valuable for creating a lifelong love and appreciation for art and artistic practices.”

The project incorporated the Uris Center’s existing children’s library and sought to add seven new interactive stations designed specifically for material exploration. Materials such as wood will be featured on a rotating basis in order to augment a multisensory learning experience that relies on children’s sense of touch and smell and is aided by additional digital learning tools. 

A music station component also features in the design, which was delivered courtesy of Yamaha. The project was spearheaded by the museum’s education chair Heidi Holder, who stated that it “positions the Museum as a place where visitors can make delightful discoveries, take risks, and ask questions, activities that are imperative to reimagine the future role of museums in our communities.”

In an email to Archinect, KOKO's Mishi Hosono and Adam Weintraub explained: “The Met’s rich, inclusive, and diverse programming for children demanded an environment that is dynamic and ever-evolving. Throughout the pandemic, we were able to host virtual design workshops with the Met’s education department and curators to explore the role of materiality and sensory perception within the Met’s encyclopedic collection and incorporate that into the visitor experience.”

“The challenge was to create a space that was responsive to different uses and programming for educators, but that also addresses the unique needs and engagement of the Met’s youngest guests. It was important to us to consider how children of all ages may process the size and scale of the Met and ensure that the 81st Street Studio creates the magical sensation that new worlds, filled with culture and art, are opening up just for them,” they added finally.

Additional information about the new 81st Street Studio can be found here.