Washington Pavilion Opens New Prehistoric Adventure Climber

Today the Washington Pavilion unveiled the single largest exhibit addition to the Kirby Science Discovery Center (KSDC) since its opening in 1999. The Prehistoric Adventure Climber offers community area families an extraordinary opportunity to learn about dinosaurs, earth science, paleontology and fitness while exploring tunnels, bones, caves, bridges, slides and more.

Located on the KSDC fourth floor, the new, one of-a-kind climber exhibit is two stories high with four levels extending 18 feet into the air.

"After two years of planning and preparation, we are thrilled to present the biggest indoor climbing structure in Sioux Falls. This is another example of the value we have been placing in continuously updating and renovating the Kirby Science Discovery Center into a world class museum," says Darrin Smith, Washington Pavilion President and CEO. "The climber offers floor-to-ceiling fun and learning for kids of all ages."

The Washington Pavilion, in partnership with the David B. Jones Foundation and fourth floor sponsor Sanford Health, created the climber to promote physical activity as well as provide education on dinosaurs.

· Enter through a tunnel of dinosaur bones and explore passageways on four different levels.

· Crawl through crates, discover caves and climb numerous corridors in your quest to reach the top of the towering structure.

· Glide back down to the bottom the easy, fun and fast way on the 7-foot turbo tube slide or race a friend down on the side-by-side slides.

· Imagine how dinosaurs roared when you use the talk tubes to transmit your voice to different areas of the climber. The exhibit includes a dozen other interactives such as telescopes, puzzles and more.

· And much more!

"The Prehistoric Adventure Climber offers an experience like nothing we have seen before in our community. We wanted an exhibit with an original design, a connection to science and a real wow factor," says Brandon Hanson, Washington Pavilion Director of Museums. "The enormity of the exhibit plus the educational and fitness benefits far surpassed our wildest dreams."

The new addition to the Kirby Science Discovery Center will complement the third-floor paleontology exhibits, Dinosaur Discovery, as well as the health and wellness themed HealthQuest by Sanford and the Scheels Rock Wall on fourth floor.

"We are so grateful to our tremendous sponsors and partners who so generously help us deliver our mission to this community," said Kerri DeGraff, Chief Business Development Officer. "David B. Jones Foundation has provided support for this specific exhibit and Sanford Health is the sponsor of the fourth floor dedicated to health and wellness. Without their commitments, this incredible new and unique climber wouldn't have been possible."

Thanks to new exhibits and continuous updates, no two visits to the Washington Pavilion are the same. It is a great time to buy a membership with a holiday special running that starts as low as $4.79 per month. Enjoy free, year-round museum access along with other amazing benefits.

For more information, call the Box Office at 605-367-6000 or visit washingtonpavilion.org. Daily admission rates apply for non-members.

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