Dreaming Big: New Children’s Museum Opens in El Paso

Key points:

• The new children’s museum in El Paso, Texas, focuses on interactive experiences that incorporate science, technology, engineering, art and math.
• La Nube includes four floors of hands-on exhibits that explore fundamental principles of subjects such as meteorology, veterinary science, 3D printing and robotics.
• The museum resulted from a public-private collaboration, including a foundational investment from Marathon Petroleum to support project funding and future programs.

The new children’s museum in El Paso, Texas, La Nube (noo-beh) - Spanish for ‘the cloud’, recently opened with four stories and more than 70,000 square-feet of interactive spaces and learning zones that incorporate science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM).

“The museum’s name reflects a theme about the sky being limitless and how clouds can take any shape, representing infinite possibilities,” said V.J. Smith, Principal Corporate Social Responsibility & Community Relations Representative with Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC). “We are proud to support this kind of inspiration through a community resource that is likely to motivate generations of young El Pasoans to dream big.”

MPC was among several local stakeholders that joined the city of El Paso and the El Paso Community Foundation in advancing the project. As a leading sponsor, MPC provided a foundational investment to aid project funding and the development of future interactive programs, making possible one of La Nube’s nine themed learning zones, called Flow.

“Flow uses play to introduce children to concepts about water, including how machinery harnesses its power and the importance of conservation,” Smith said. “Among the features are a pump room that shows how water is treated and recycled as well as fun elements like water noodles and hoses.”

La Nube’s other STEAM-oriented learning zones explore fundamental principles of subjects such as meteorology, geometry, veterinary science, music, coding, acoustics, 3D printing and robotics. Some of the larger elements include a 50-foot-tall climber that’s part art installation and part jungle gym, a glow-in-the-dark cavern and a green screen system to provide backdrops for creating videos.

All museum visitors receive radio frequency identification bracelets called Discovery Bands. These devices wirelessly connect to exhibits to provide an even more immersive experience, allowing children to track their learning progress and save digital data. After they leave the museum, visitors receive emails with links that allow them to download records of their activities.

Several days before La Nube’s Aug. 10 grand opening, the museum hosted a facility preview for about 400 employees and family members from MPC’s El Paso refinery. The refinery’s Education and Outreach Committee plans to host programs at the museum in partnership with local schools.