By Frederick Melo

St. Paul Pioneer Press

ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Children’s Museum’s proposed new skyway entrance, coffee shop, four-story climbing structure and expanded facade might seem ambitious in their own right, but a tentative new slogan better explains the next frontier: “Room to Play.”

“We’re giving Minnesota more room to play,” said museum spokesman Robert Ingrassia, outlining the biggest changes to the space since the museum’s arrival in downtown St. Paul in 1995.

“And we’re reimagining the museum to give families new ways to play. … Every gallery in the building is going to change.”

Months before its planned $28 million renovation and expansion, downtown’s signature family hangout will debut two interactive exhibits this weekend designed to test the waters with new experiments in children’s play.

The exhibits, “Make” and “Imagine,” will open Saturday. Each invites kids to perform the kinds of activities that some highly structured, overprotective parents might otherwise rule out in a heartbeat.

“Make” is a hands-on learning workshop, featuring real hammers, real nails, sewing machines, fabric and other materials ready to be assembled by youngsters willing to brave the possibility of a bruised thumb. The room is intended for all ages, and there will be plastic hammers and tools available for toddlers.

While children will be supervised, direction will be limited, and kids will be expected to learn by doing.

“It’s such an empowering thing for the children to be able to use a tool that’s so often considered an adult tool,” said Michelle Blodgett, an exhibit developer who worked with a team of planners on the project.

If “Make” is concrete, “Imagine” aims for the abstract. A large gallery room will feature hard-to-define movable and semi-movable objects, from inflatable yoga balls to tall, swiveling silos bolted to the ground.

Colored lights, swaying wall cloth and a small stage are intended to add to the other-worldly effect, with the goal of creating a play area that children will have to define for themselves.

That’s a departure in an era when even Lego toys come with step-by-step assembly instructions. Blodgett said a growing body of research into how kids learn through play has revealed the importance of “seven C’s” — among them, critical thinking, creative thinking, communication and collaboration. “Imagine” challenges kids to think outside the lines.