Bug Adventure
Bug Adventure is an indoor play space that fully immerses guests in the wild, weird, and wonderful world of insects. Guests, whether they come with school groups, parties, or just for fun, will experience the amazing lives of insects through physical play or in interactive classroom settings.
Target audience: 5-10 year olds
Length of experience: half-day
Entry
Upon entering Bug Adventure, guests arrive at the lobby, where they purchase tickets for the day. They are immediately met with a scale model of the facility, a quaint backyard picnic scene, before passing through a giant magnifying glass and entering into the "shrinking tunnel." Through light and sound effects, this tunnel simulates the experience of shrinking down to the size of a bug, allowing guests to experience life from an insect's point of view.
Facility
When guests exit the shrinking tunnel, they find themselves the size of ants, standing inside the picnic scene depicted in the entry area. In the rear of the facility is a giant picnic basket next to a large tree, providing access to refreshments, as well as the entry to party rooms and back of house areas.
The entire facility is covered in a clover and grass canopy, with lighting and sound effects that mimic the natural world. Various simulated weather events, such a rain or snow, occur throughout the day, as well as a day-to-night cycle and special scenic elements that represent the changing of the seasons. Bug Adventure is filled with giant insects, including some that blend in with the natural surroundings, only revealing themselves by the periodic beat of their wings or the sounds they make as they communicate with one another.
Play Structures
Oversized, natural-looking play structures make up the majority of the guest experience at Bug Adventure: giant blades of grass bend into slides, flowers and roots become unique crawl spaces. Guests climb, crawl, and bounce through the environment, learning about the lives of insects in a fun and active way. Some of the main elements include:
Mushroom slide — At the center of the facility is a mushroom cluster with an opening on the inside that allows guests to climb to a higher vantage point. Here, they can access portions of the spider web climb and can slide back down to the lower levels on a set of intertwined spiral slides. Sitting atop the structure is a large, animated butterfly, its movement causing color changes on the ground as light passes through its colorful, flapping wings.
Spider Web Climb — The spider web climb is an elevated path that spans the width of Bug Adventure, with a large group of climbable ropes and platforms concentrated on one side of the building. This elevated area adds to the sense of kinetic energy and life and mimics the complex, intertwined ecosystem that insects inhabit.
Beehive climb, bounce, and maze — The beehive, a multi-activity structure that is surrounded by inflatable honey, includes a climbable combo exterior and interior, as well as a crawl-through honeycomb maze. The area is accompanied by several animated honey bees, with an emphasis on how they communicate and build their hives.
Ant Tunnels — The tunnels and caves are a crawling, sliding cluster that make guests feel like they are climbing deep into the roots and dirt tunnels that ants call home. Guests will encounter ants on their way back from the picnic, as well as a variety of brightly colored beetles visiting from all over the world. The tunnels also act as a way to access the spider web climb.
Interactives
Scattered throughout Bug Adventure are interactive activities, such as bug vision goggles, insect strength comparisons, and bungee cord assisted bounce houses, that help guests experience the lives of insects. Additional fun activities, such as a cricket orchestra or paintable butterflies, will help guests to appreciate the beauty of the insect world.
Refreshment Stands
A large, overturned juice box to the side of the picnic basket, serves as the primary refreshment area for guests visiting Bug Adventure, with dual service areas that face both the main facility and the private party rooms. Wine and beer are also available from a large wine bottle located nearby.
Learning Center
The interactive learning center is one of the few locations in Bug Adventure where guests are not the size of bugs, but instead have the opportunity to see real bugs and learn about them in a classroom-like setting. The learning center can host guest lecturers and traveling exhibitions, and can operate independently of the rest of the facility, offering programming flexibility.
Party Rooms
Party rooms are available for birthdays or special events, giving groups some privacy away from the main activities.
Exit
After spending a day learning about and playing with insects, guests pass through a small shop where they can buy souvenirs and gifts, as well as passes for their next Bug Adventure.
