Second Story and Beyond

Second Story & Beyond: Transforming a Library into an Interactive Children's Museum

Client: City of Rancho Cucamonga  I  Design: CambridgeSeven   I  Fabricator: Xibitz   I   AV: Electrosonic & RLMG   I  Subcontractor: Boss Display  

The Challenge

In an era where digital screens often dominate children’s attention, the City of Rancho Cucamonga, California, embarked on a daring journey to redefine the traditional library experience. Partnering with design experts CambridgeSeven and fabrication specialists Xibitz, the Rancho Cucamonga Public Library has unveiled a groundbreaking transformation of its second floor — now home to far more than books.

The aptly named Second Story and Beyond exhibition is an interactive wonderland that combines learning, sensory development, movement, and creativity. With a strong emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), the new library floor is designed to nurture curiosity and foster a love for learning through carefully curated hands-on experiences. 

Second Story_Entrance Square

The Result

This ambitious project was brought to life through the collaborative efforts of several key players:

  • CambridgeSeven: Provided the visionary experience design
  • Xibitz: Head of fabrication and overall project management
  • Boss Display: Created the incredible water table and overhead climber
  • Electrosonic: Implemented state-of-the-art AV hardware and media
  • RLMG: Provided high quality media content 
  • Taylor Studios and Moss: Contributed specialized expertise to various elements

One of the most innovative aspects of this project is the exhibit’s adaptability. The entire floor can be updated with new graphic packages that run through every exhibit, ensuring that the space remains fresh and engaging for years to come. This forward-thinking approach allows the library staff to continually evolve the experience, keeping pace with educational trends and community needs.

The Rancho Cucamonga Public Library’s transformation illustrates how traditional institutions can evolve to meet the changing needs of their communities. By creating a space that encourages active learning, sensory exploration, and creative play, the library has positioned itself as an essential hub for childhood development and family engagement.

Want to see more? Check out our other Museum projects.

Final exhibit features installed at Flint Museum

FLINT — Wyoming-based architectural fabricator Xibitz Inc. has been working in partnership with Sloan Museum of Discovery over the last three years to bring the museum’s brand-new exhibits to life, with the final piece being installed last week. This work includes the Discovery Hall Gallery, Hagerman Street Early Childhood Gallery, the History Gallery and the Durant Vehicle Galler

 

A final piece of the installation included an interactive automobile assembly line showcasing the deep history of the auto industry and allowing visitors to participate in the car assembly process. Installing this piece marks the end of a multi-year journey in enhancing the museum’s exhibits that tell the story and history of the city of Flint.

“Xibitz was honored to be selected as the trusted partner for the museum,” said Ben Metzger, principal at Xibitz. “It has been an incredible journey to watch this project develop from ideas and concepts to complete galleries that tell the story of Flint in ways for the whole family to enjoy.”

Other elements of Xibitz’ hands-on installations include multiple interactive experiences such as the 3-D Periodic table with a touchscreen kiosk in Sloan’s Discovery Hall Gallery. Visitors select which compound they would like to produce and drag the elements into the touch-screen beaker. Upon adding all elements, the periodic table lights-up with all of the elements to produce the final product.

Hagerman Street Early Childhood Gallery features an interactive ambulance, with lights, sirens, warning systems and a large flat screen integrated into the design. Also in this space is a three-story climbing experience in the form of a treehouse with multiple “peek-a-boo” boxes on each floor. The Market uses AV-integration to accomplish an interactive shopping experience that allows visitors to select different drinks.

The History Gallery features an AV system installed by Xibitz that is triggered by a visitor walking onto the “Story Stones” placed along the floor. As guests walk into the gallery, they are taken on a journey through the history of the city, guided by a carpet design representing the Flint River.

“The teamwork and support Xibitz provided to bring our vision to life was phenomenal,” said Amy Walker, exhibit coordinator at Sloan Museum of Discovery. “Xibitz brought 100 percent to the Sloan Museum of Discovery project, and I look forward to creating future projects together.”

Xibitz partnered with Cambridge Seven, Peter Hyde Design, Blue Telescope, and Electrosonic to design and fabricate the new galleries at the Sloan Museum of Discovery. — B.G

Grand Rapids Art Museum – Creative Learning Center

Grand Rapids, MI

Xibitz’ experience with interactive elements was influential in the success of this project for GRAM (Grand Rapids Art Museum). The team worked closely with GRAM to design and fabricate five interactive experiences that were unique to the art community and allow people of all ages to be educated by and interact with concepts in the art world.

These elements were designed and created to be durable and flexible, allowing GRAM the ability to continuously use and relocate these interactives in their environment. The space includes five exhibits. The first includes two “make-and-take” tables where the museum can rotate various hands-on interactives to allow visitors to make their own creations and take them home. The second is “Build Like a Sculptor,” where a series of Velcro-wrapped beams and cubes allow visitors to create their own abstract sculptures. The third includes two “Landscape Layers” tables, where visitors can interchange “slides” of disparate landscapes with varying transparency to create unique layered looks. The fourth, “Color Mixing,” includes a trio of spinning cylinders with a variety of color patterns from the CMYK spectrum that encourages visitors to discover how new colors are created. Finally, the “Think Like a Curator” exhibit asks visitors to select both paintings and frames to “curate” their own gallery on a blank, magnetic wall.

Sloan Museum of Discovery

Flint, MI

Xibitz partnered with Peter Hyde Design, Blue Telescope and Electrosonic to design and fabricate four galleries for the Sloan Museum of Discovery. This work includes the Discovery Hall, Hagerman Street Early Childhood Gallery, the History Gallery, and the Durant Vehicle Gallery.

Elements of Xibitz’s hands-on installations include an interactive automobile assembly line allowing visitors to participate in the car assembly process. Multiple interactive experiences such as a 3-D Periodic table with a touch-screen kiosk in Sloan’s Discovery Hall gallery. Visitors select which compound they would like to produce and drag the elements into the touch-screen beaker. Then, the periodic table lights-up with all of the elements to produce the final product. Hagerman Street Early Childhood Gallery features an interactive ambulance, with lights, sirens, warning systems and a large flat screen integrated into the design. Also in this space is a 3-story climbing experience in the form of a tree-house with multiple “peek-a-boo” boxes on each floor. The History Gallery features an av system installed by Xibitz that is trigged by a visitor walking onto the “Story Stones” placed along the floor. As guests walk into the gallery, they are taken on a journey through the history of the city, guided by a carpet design representing the Flint River.

Gilmore Car Museum

Hickory Corners, MI

The Gilmore Car Museum, open to the public since July 31, 1966,  portrays a timeline of rich automobile history and progression with a diverse collection of time-period vehicles throughout their sprawling campus. Xibitz was brought on for the ride, alongside design partner Good Design Group, to create interactive experiences that illustrate the impact of the assembly line on the manufacturing of modern cars. The interactive exhibit allows users to choose parts from buckets to assemble there own mini version of a car,  while racing against the clock that enforces the revolutionary process of the assembly line on automotive production. The newly fashioned cars are then placed on a track to determine which design is the fastest.

The Gilmore Car Museum leaves car enthusiasts and visitors with a sense of pride in the accomplishments of our progressive culture. It inspires hopefulness that future automotive inventions will be even more imaginative than we thought was possible. 

National Czech & Slovak

Faces of Freedom

Cedar Rapids, IA

Sitting in a living room during World War Two. Lying on a bunk in a steamship on your way to America or standing in Wenceslaus Square amidst shaking keys at the height of the Velvet Revolution. What did it sound like? What did it feel like? Questions like these are being answered throughout the new 7,261-square-foot museum exhibition project. Rare artifacts; cutting-edge interactive displays; and exhibits on puppets, music, art, and much more celebrate the immigrant spirit in everyone. 

The space encourages visitors to reflect on their own experiences with freedom through the lens of the story of the Czech and Slovak people—from old‐world tribes to the formation of the modern‐day Czech and Slovak Republics, to the immigration stories of those who left their native land for opportunities in America.

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OH WOW

Children’s Center for Science and Technology

Youngstown, OH

Cambridge Seven and Xibitz partnered to work with OH WOW! Children’s Center for Science & Technology and the House of Shine, from Dallas, to create exciting, colorful, interactive exhibits for children of all ages who visit the center in Youngstown, OH. We worked closely together, collaborating each step of the way, and the end result is an engaging and inspiring venue. There are activities that ask the participant questions about;

  • Strengths
  • Hobbies
  • Interests
  • Needs
  • Experiences

A visit to this center will give kids an opportunity to explore “themselves” as well as science and technology. Come for a visit and plan to return to play/learn/grow!

OH WOW museum design fabrication xibitz
OH WOW museum design exhibit fabrication xibitz
OH WOW Museum Design Fabrication Xibitz
OH WOW museum design exhibit fabrication xibitz

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Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum

Grand Rapids, MI

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum received an 8,000-square-foot addition and new permanent exhibits as part of a $15 million project completed in May 2016. In July of 2015 Xibitz was awarded the contract to manage, produce and install the exhibits as designed by Gallagher & Associates, an interpretive planning and museum design firm located outside of Washington D.C.

This new permanent exhibit provides visitors with the opportunity to experience President Ford and the First Lady’s lives, careers, and legacies. Xibitz worked closely with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to properly showcase and preserve more of the museum’s permanent collections and archival holdings. While engaged in this work, Xibitz coordinated with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, Gallagher & Associates, Museum Director and Staff, and Construction Project Manager.

presidential museum exhibition fabrication xibitz
presidential museum exhibition fabrication xibitz
gerald r ford presidential foundation exhibit display design fabrication xibitz
gerald r ford presidential foundation exhibit display design fabrication xibitz
presidential museum exhibition fabrication xibitz
gerald r ford presidential foundation exhibit display design fabrication xibitz

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University of Michigan

Natural History Museum

Ann Arbor, MI

The new Museum of Natural History moved from the 90-year old Ruthven Museum Building into a modern seven-story Biological Science Building designed by architects Ennead and SmithGroupJJR. The 300,000 square foot building also will be home to the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. In addition to natural history exhibits incorporating a wide array of modern exhibit techniques, visitors will experience a state-of-the-art Digital Dome Theater with Planetarium, high-definition video and audio presentations. University faculty and students are playing significant roles in the conceptual development of the exhibits.

The planning, design, fabrication and installation of the new Museum exhibits is a joint venture of Lord Cultural Resources, Xibitz and Taylor Studios under the name of Great Plains Exhibit Development Joint Venture. This is the second prestigious project for the Joint Venture, having completed 33,000 square feet of new exhibits in 2014 for the State Museum of North Dakota.

State Historical Society of North Dakota

North Dakota Heritage Center

Seattle, WA

The North Dakota Heritage Center underwent a significant expansion project, nearly doubling its exhibition gallery space. This project allowed the Museum to expand upon the history of North Dakota and its people across time and place, from the time when dinosaurs ruled through the development of today’s emerging industries.

Great Plains Exhibit Development Joint Venture, comprised of Xibitz, Lord Cultural Resources and Taylor Studios worked collaboratively with stakeholders from the Museum, architect, and the public to create exhibits in three new galleries totaling 33,000 square feet.

Public engagement was a cornerstone of the development process as our team traveled to all corners of the state engaging the public in focus sessions seeking input on what stories should be told and how they should be presented. The resulting designs include a mix of traditional and contemporary exhibit techniques, including recreated environments, interactive media, and hands-on exhibits that respond to varied learning styles and audience needs.

North Dakota historical exhibition design fabrication xibitz
North Dakota historical exhibition design fabrication xibitz
North Dakota historical exhibition design fabrication xibitz
North Dakota exhibition design fabrication xibitz
North Dakota historical exhibition design fabrication xibitz
North Dakota historical exhibition design fabrication xibitz

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