Modesto Children’s Museum Announces New 600-Square-Foot Interactive Exhibit Focused on Agriculture, Innovation & the Bioeconomy

Modesto, CA — What if agricultural waste could become the building blocks of the future? That’s one of the big ideas families will explore in a new interactive exhibit coming to the Modesto Children’s Museum.

Announced during the museum’s third annual Imagination Celebration gala on September 18, Food for Thought will be a new 600-square-foot hands-on exhibit exploring the connections between agriculture, innovation, science, and the circular bioeconomy.

And if you know the Modesto Children’s Museum, you can expect plenty of opportunities for kids to touch, experiment, play, and make connections.

A Hands-On Look at Agricultural Innovation

Renderings released by the museum and created by Oakland-based design studio Gyroscope Inc. — the team behind the museum’s opening-day exhibits — show a colorful laboratory-inspired space centered around a large interactive sculpture.

The centerpiece will feature familiar Central Valley staples including chickens, cows, mushrooms, carrots, and more. Steel tracks and rolling balls will connect the different elements, creating a giant cause-and-effect machine that demonstrates how energy and ideas can move from one place to another.

The concept is all about discovering “Unexpected Connections” between agriculture and innovation.

What Can a Cow, a Power Plant & a Mushroom Have in Common?

One example starts with a cow.

Visitors can send a ball rolling down the cow’s back, where it is released with a lift of the cow’s tail. The ball then travels into a miniature power plant.

It’s a kid-friendly way to demonstrate real-world efforts to transform agricultural waste — such as cow manure — into useful materials that can help power vehicles and homes.

From there, visitors can collect and move that “energy” through the exhibit’s steel tracks, eventually lighting up whimsical “mushroom skyscrapers.”

The experience introduces families to research and innovation exploring how mushroom fibers could potentially be used to create materials such as bricks for future homes.

Learning About the Circular Bioeconomy

The exhibit is inspired by the work of local nonprofit BEAM Circular, which focuses on creating economic opportunities by transforming agricultural waste into useful products and byproducts.

The Central Valley is emerging as an important hub for the circular bioeconomy — an industry focused on finding new ways to use biological resources and turn what might otherwise be considered waste into something valuable.

Through Food for Thought, kids will have the opportunity to explore these big ideas through play while also being introduced to science, engineering, entrepreneurship, and potential future careers.

The exhibit’s design was funded through a BEAM Circular grant program backed by Stanislaus County, with a focus on exposing young people to innovation, science and engineering skills, and new career opportunities.

More Ways for Kids to Explore

The Food for Thought exhibit will include several interactive experiences, including:

• Unexpected Connections — A large cause-and-effect machine where kids can explore how different parts of agriculture and innovation connect.
• Win-Win Pinball — A first-of-its-kind three-player pinball game exploring how different parts of an almond crop, including shells, hulls, and tree trimmings, can be transformed into valuable resources instead of going to waste.
• Grow Everything Lab — A hands-on space where kids can explore local plants and produce, make observations with a video microscope, and discover how agricultural innovation can benefit both the environment and the economy.

Designed With the Central Valley in Mind

The museum says the exhibit is designed to reflect the stories and industries that are part of life in Stanislaus County and throughout the Central Valley.

“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome families into an entirely new STEAM-and-career-centered exhibit,” says Katie Trausch, CEO of the Modesto Children’s Museum.

“It’s important to us that MoChiMu continuously reflects the stories of our county and region, and that it instills the skills that its kids will need in their future careers. Food for Thought introduces families to the flexible thinking, creative connections, and ‘anything’s-possible’ mindset that will power the Valley’s forward momentum.”

What Else Can Families Explore at MoChiMu?

Food for Thought will join the museum’s other nine interactive exhibit areas, giving families even more opportunities to learn through hands-on play.

Current exhibits include:

• Water Lab
• Air Lab
• Valley Proud kid-sized grocery store
• MSR Maker Lab
• Two-story Adventure Climber
• And more hands-on learning experiences

The new exhibit will replace the museum’s Powerful Pollinators exhibit, where kids could become “bees” and help pollinate an almond orchard using Velcro pollen balls.

According to the museum, Powerful Pollinators may now be rented by other children’s museums, allowing the Modesto-created experience to travel and share the Central Valley’s agricultural story with families beyond the region.

When Will Food for Thought Open?

Families will have to wait a little longer before they can become “connection engineers.”

The Modesto Children’s Museum expects the new Food for Thought exhibit to open in Spring 2027.

“We expect that visitors will be planting their ideas for the future in the Food for Thought exhibit in Spring 2027,” says Trausch.

We can’t wait to see what Central Valley kids come up with!

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