Making a Splash in The Garden

Creating The Science Museum’s Water Gallery

“ Full of interactive elements with multiple points of engagement, it was created at a time when hands-on exhibits were not yet mainstream”

Whilst working at Science Projects, I was involved with the design, development and construction of many water areas for fantastic science centres all over the world. One of my favourites is a bit closer to home and if you have kids between three and five years old and live near London then you need to go.

‘The Garden’ is hidden in basement of the Science Museum in South Kensington, London and specifically designed for this age group. ‘It opened in 1995, around the same time as Tim Hunkin’s The Secret Life of the Home in the neighbouring gallery (now closed). That means that many of its first visitors have now grown up, and are bringing their toddlers there to play and learn as well.

The gallery designers were Casson Mann, and we worked closely with them to design and build an interactive splash zone, one of the highlights of The Garden. Full of interactive elements with multiple points of engagement, it was created at a time when hands-on exhibits were not yet mainstream, and Launchpad (now Wonderlab), was yet to be … launched, upstairs.

There were lots of technical challenges that I may share another day but we got there and this year (2025), this water play haven celebrates its third decade of delighting young visitors. I took my son when he was four, and it felt strange and heartwarming to play with him on an exhibit I was part of creating some twenty plus years beforehand.

If you are in the area with your young ones then I strongly recommend a visit but I need to warn you that they will probably go home slightly wetter than they were.