A MAGICAL world of play directly inspired children’s own creativity has officially opened and is already proving a hit.
The Wonder Room play scape has been inspired by Reception Class children at Grangetown Primary and opens at Kirkleatham Museum.
Theatre Hullabaloo with Tees Valley Museums Group worked alongside the children to generate ideas inspired by our region’s rich industrial heritage and vibrant and varied collections of Tees Valley’s museums.
Children aged five and under and their families will be able to:
- peek through a coloured porthole;
- tread carefully along a silly sound walk and investigate tunnels big and small (looking out for the ones that hold magic whispers!);
- create new worlds with light tables and shadow play and magnifying glasses, mirrors lenses and cogs.
There’s much more – and also wonder for babies too with soft areas of black and white for snuggles and tactile objects for crawlers to discover.
Artists Lucy Cassidy and Ella Deacy of Theatre Hullabaloo – a charity bringing theatre, events and creativity opportunities to children – worked with Reception Class children from Grangetown to help design The Wonder Room.
The artists explained they and the children played with silly glasses, crawled through tunnels, made rainbows and invented some very unusual creatures. They were also inspired by some of the weirder and more wonderful elements of the museum collections from across the Tees Valley - including pipes, tubes and cogs from Kirkleatham Museum celebrating the area’s steel making and maritime history.
Lucy and Ella then worked with Theatre Hullaballoo and designers Roma Patel and Rachel Clementine of the Makers of Imaginary Worlds organisation to create a fantastical playscape for children and their grown-ups to investigate together.
Speaking at a preview at Kirkleatham Museum on Wednesday (August 6), artist Ella Deacy, of Middlesbrough, said: “One quote, my absolute favourite, sums it all up for me. It’s from a little boy called Adam, who is five, who were working with. One time he turned round and said; ‘it’s like my whole head has turned into an imagination machine!’ That’s what it is all about. This project has opened up my eyes to the fact that visions like this can be achieved right here in the Tees Valley.”
Miranda Thain, Artistic Producer at Theatre Hullabaloo, said: "Theatre Hullabaloo believes that creativity should be part of everybody's childhood and our artist-designed play spaces bring magical worlds of performance and play to children right across Tees Valley. It’s been a fantastic experience for our artists Lucy Cassidy and Ella Deacy to collaborate with local families, thanks to the Reimagine Grant. Together they have created these new playful spaces for families to enjoy in some of the wonderful museums we have in the region."
Reuben Kench, Chair of the Tees Valley Museums Consortium, said: “We know how powerful play can be in helping children learn and interact. This project takes the fascinating stories and objects of our Museum collections as the inspiration for play spaces that engage and inspire children and families.
“Thanks to the Art Fund Reimagine Grant this wonderful initiative is now available for local children to engage with and enjoy, and we look forward to it touring across our five different local authority museum sites.
“We’d like to thank the children and families from Grangetown Primary School as well as families from Billingham Family Hub, and families visiting both Preston Park Museum and Kirkleatham Museum for helping to co-design the playscape alongside local artists.”
Cllr Carrie Richardson, Deputy Leader of Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council and Cabinet Member for Climate and Culture, said: “This is a truly wonderful space and we’re so pleased it’s coming to Kirkleatham Museum first – and right in the middle of the school holidays too. I’d like to congratulate everyone involved in creating such an inspiring play space for our children.”
The Wonder Room is now open at Valley at Kirkleatham Museum from today (Thursday 7 August) until early 2026 , Tuesday to Sunday from 11am to 3pm. Entrance is £2 adults, £1.50 children and FREE for children aged under four.
The Wonder Room has been created as part of a collaboration between Theatre Hullabaloo and Tees Valley Museums Group and has been funded by a Reimagine Grant from the Art Fund, Borderlands Creative People and Place, Arts Council England and Tees Valley Combined Authority.
During the next couple of years, it will tour to Middlesbrough’s Dorman Museum, Hartlepool Museum, Hopetown Museum in Darlington and Preston Park in Stockton.