Kansas Children’s Discovery Center Expansion

Kansas Children’s Discovery Center Expansion | Topeka, Kansas

Topeka, KS

For years, the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center had been growing toward a problem most organizations would welcome: more families wanted to visit than its existing space could comfortably accommodate. After multiple years of record attendance, KCDC launched Building Discovery, the largest expansion in the museum’s history, with a vision to create more opportunities for children to explore, experiment and learn.

Crossland helped bring that vision to life with a 16,000-square-foot addition that more than doubled the museum from approximately 15,000 to more than 30,000 square feet. The new construction connects directly to the existing Discovery Center and expands its capacity for hands-on exhibits, learning and play.

More Space for How Kids Learn
The expansion was shaped around more than additional square footage. KCDC gathered input through public meetings, surveys and community listening sessions, including one specifically for children. Kids shared drawings, sculptures and stories about what they wanted in the expanded museum. Their ideas consistently came back to climbing, using real tools and experiencing more sensory play.

Those ideas can be seen throughout the finished facility.
Building Discovery added three large galleries, three learning lab classrooms, a makerspace, café, exhibit construction workshop and a 3,000-square-foot traveling exhibit gallery capable of accommodating larger national exhibits. New learning spaces support STEAM-focused programming for school-age children, while additional accessibility and safety features broaden the ways families can experience the museum.

At the center of it all is one feature that is hard to miss: an approximately 18-foot, two-story climbing structure anchored by the world’s tallest climbable sunflower. The one-of-a-kind feature gives children a chance to climb, explore and experience the museum from an entirely different perspective.

A Building as Colorful as Its Purpose
The architecture carries that playful character throughout the addition. Approximately 20 paint colors and 20 carpet selections create a highly colorful interior, while a rainbow tunnel archway connects the new expansion to the original museum. Specialized climbing structures and custom finishes were designed specifically around young visitors and the way they interact with the space.

Outside, imported terracotta panels from Germany and translucent Kalwall wall panels give the addition a distinctive appearance. Both specialty systems required careful coordination and installation to achieve the architectural design.

Keeping the Opening Date on Track
The project’s biggest construction challenge came near the finish line.
Two months before opening, changes to the planned construction sequence required the team to reverse its workflow and later shift it again. With the opening celebration already approaching, Crossland worked with the project team and trade partners to replan remaining activities, adjust sequencing and put in additional hours to protect the schedule.

That final push paid off. Crossland completed the project ahead of schedule and within budget, positioning KCDC to open Building Discovery to the public on November 7, 2025. More than 250 people attended the opening celebration, including state and local officials, donors, museum representatives, volunteers and members of the project team.

The expanded space quickly began serving the demand that prompted the project. KCDC welcomed a record 129,987 visitors in 2025, a 9 percent increase from the previous year, with more than 23,000 visitors coming through the museum during the final two months after Building Discovery opened.

In March 2026, the museum set another milestone when 1,553 visitors experienced the expanded facility in a single day, the highest one-day attendance in KCDC history.

Project Facts

Industry Sector: Educational, Education
Cost: $8,149,573
Size: 16,000 SF
Delivery Method: Construction Management
Self-Perform: Finish Carpentry, Rough Carpentry, Specialties
Owner: Kansas Children's Discovery Center, Inc.
Architect: SDG Architecture+Interiors
Engineer: Bob D. Campbell & Co.