Peoria Playhouse Children's Museum

Color-Ad, an exhibit and sign fabrication company, asked Transformit to create some giant leaves for a magical forest canopy over the water play area at the Peoria Playhouse Children's Museum. Designers at Jack Rouse Associates had the idea to play with scale and create an environment similar to the perspective shown through the eyes of an ant, like the movie, Antz. Three different sizes of three different types of leaves were chosen: cottonwood, hickory, and oak. The designers wanted the fabric skins on the leaves to be transluscent so that lighting from above would filter through the different colors. We used a black lightweight mesh on the backside of the pillowcased skins so that dappled light would come through without causing the whole piece to glow. We designed the interior spreaders to follow the veins of the leaf graphics, allowing the shadow from the spreaders to enhance the graphic pattern. The clients were very happy with the outcome, and the space is one of the favorites in the museum. Everyone at Transformit was excited to work on the leaves, as we could feel the joy they would bring to children for many years to come.