Starting April 30, Mexico’s Día del Niño (National Children’s Day), St. Louis families can take an immersive, educational trip across the border—in Kirkwood.
The Magic House’s playful history has included six cultural exhibits, each of which has allowed children to step into what it’s like to be a kid in another country. The next experience on this decade-long roster, ¡Viva México!, runs from April 30—January 2026.
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“In each of the cultural exhibits, we try to make it so that kids can look at similarities and differences between our cultures,” says Marissa Lorance, director of marketing. “For instance, they know what their school looks like, but what does a school look like in Mexico or Italy or China? They know what their home looks like, but what does a home look like in Mexico? They’re able to say, ‘Oh yeah, these things are the same,’ or, ‘Oh, these things are different.’”
Admission to ¡Viva México! is included with general admission to The Magic House. The exhibit is recommended for all ages. Here’s what to know before you go.
The Exhibit
The bilingual celebration of Mexico includes a range of highlights:
- Market: Kids can stroll through a traditional Mexican street market, explore artisan crafts such as colorful alebrijes (folk art creatures), or create papel picado (traditional cut paper decorations). Street food carts with Mexican treats such street corn, tacos, and churros are also among the highlights.
- Traditional home: Visitors can make tortillas and sit down for a family dinner surrounded by the artwork of famous Mexican artists.
- School: Students can learn about the history of Mexico, create a Mexican flag, learn Spanish words, and play fútbol and other playground games in the schoolyard.
- Dress-up area: Kids can try on traditional clothing, dance to mariachi music, and play instruments like maracas and guiros.
- Trajinera boat: Kids can learn about the axolotl, a beloved and endangered animal in Mexico.
- Festivities zone: Learn about significant Mexican holidays such as Día De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead).
The Research
Like all of The Magic House’s creations, the preparations to construct the mini-world began long before its debut.
The foundation of every cultural exhibit at the children’s museum is a visit to the featured country, and collaborating with an advisory committee from that country is a large piece of the puzzle.
“Each committee is made up of incredible individuals who have deep roots in the countries we feature,” says Lorance. “They bring invaluable expertise and insights, helping us ensure that each exhibit is authentic and engaging. It gives children the opportunity to experience different countries and cultures in a hands-on way, rather than just reading about them in a textbook.”
This time, the team’s work took them to Mexico City, Mexico, where the museum team–led by museum president, Beth Fitzgerald–researched and returned with ideas, inspiration, and frequently, actual items from the country planned to be included in the exhibit.
After the design phase, the exhibit fabricators take that vision and turn it into a kids’ wonderland. A team made of just two, headed by David Busch, brings the whole thing to fruition by handcrafting every element children will eventually see.
“Building exhibits for The Magic House is something I genuinely enjoy,” Busch says. “As a craftsman, I love working with my hands and bringing ideas to life. The process of constructing the ¡Viva México! exhibit was incredibly rewarding. It’s always cool to watch kids and families enjoy what we’ve built.”
The Warehouse
This year-long process was a bit different than the typical exhibit build, Lorance explains, as it was constructed in The Magic House’s new Kirkwood warehouse, which became functional in December 2023. Before the addition of a warehouse, the children’s museum’s exhibits were built (and well-loved items were repaired) in a small basement space that required structures to be formed in individual pieces and then re-assembled on the museum floor. “We never actually were able to see a new exhibit fully set up until it was being installed for that opening weekend–as you can imagine, it was a little stressful,” Lorance says.
Walking through the new warehouse is like a fever dream of Magic House exhibits from years past, as it also serves as storage for items such as annual holiday staples and retired pieces like dinosaurs, trains, and beach scenes that may be repurposed as future props.
Since the move into the former factory setting, exhibits like ¡Viva México!, are created fit-to-size and then shipped in completion to the venue. “Now, we can basically mimic the exhibits at the warehouse to actually see how it’s really going to be set up at The Magic House,” Lorance says. “Even small stuff, like being able to go into it knowing that the signage is the right size, has made such a difference.”
The Outreach
Since the introduction of the museum’s cultural exhibits 10 years ago this year, the field trip program for The Magic House has blossomed, as it pairs well with school curriculum, Lorance explains.
Many of The Magic House exhibits, including the cultural ones, travel in their entirety to children’s museums across the country, allowing even more kids to enjoy, play in, and learn from the Kirkwood team’s efforts. Currently, for example, the Kenya Kids exhibit is on display at Florida’s Discovery Center, and the Namaste India exhibit can be found at Tennessee’s Creative Discovery Museum. “At The Magic House, there’s always something new and exciting in the works,” says Lorance, whose wheels are already turning for the next exhibit openings, a return of Sandcastle Beach this summer and the PBS KIDS collaboration of Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum: The Exhibit this fall. “Our team is dedicated to creating exhibits that are not only fun but also educational…It’s incredibly rewarding to see kids playing, exploring, and discovering new things, all while having a great time.”
