New Packrat Playhouse, a kids play area that opened April 14, 2018. I took this on April 17, 2018. I will give the history first then my opinion. Please note this view is the only part of it I saw, so my review may be unfair. It was too tight/crowded to walk to the other end and also a bit awkward for a single adult with no kids to be in there, so I didn't linger.
History: this is inside a large domed room that is adjacent to Life On The Rocks exhibit, that opened several years ago (maybe a decade ago?). The room itself was built along with Life On The Rocks and was intended to be used to display a dinosaur skeleton unearthed in Arizona and donated to the museum. Turns out the complete skeleton is too tall to fit inside so the room sat locked and unused for the last decade. It is now the first major kids play area at the museum, based apparently on a packrat midden. In other words the kids are packrats exploring their home.
Opinion: It's awful. If the photo looks dark, that is because the room is dark. In person it is pretty close to this exposure and possibly a bit darker. There is no transition from opening the door in the blinding desert sun to entering this dim interior. Honestly the entire feeling is a bit creepy. It also just looks - blah - in reference to the main climbing structure. The wall painting of desert at dusk is very nice but the big metal thing is ugly. At the time I didn't even realize it is supposed to be a prickly pear cactus, which I can now vaguely make out in the photo. Also the theme (exploring a packrat midden) is not obvious to me and honestly I doubt any of the kids get it. I think an outdoor (covered/shaded) area would have been preferable or at the very least proper lighting on this interior exhibit.
After looking at it for awhile I gather that the big metal thing is supposed to be a sculpture of a cactus with some kind of beetle on it? Is this a climbing wall or some other kind of play structure, or is it meant to be decorative?
