First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Sept. 18, 2025, opened the new 5,000 square foot FAMily Discovery Center.

The two-story space evokes a children’s pop-up book with its vibrant art and animals, many of which wear cultural adornments.

The center features many animals that are prominent in Indigenous cultures, including a turtle, rabbit, red-tailed hawk, deer, spider and coyote. The space resembles a forest where many other woodland animals, trees, insects and plants thrive.

Woody the deer’s coat is designed to pay homage to the works of famed Citizen Potawatomi artist Woody Crumbo. Grandma Turtle, who welcomes visitors, wears an apron with a Choctaw design. Reggie, a red-tailed hawk, wears a bone breastplate and proudly overlooks the entire exhibit from a giant nest.

Providing opening remarks were FAM Director Dr. Kelli Mosteller (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt (Osage Nation) and FAM Deputy Director and Co-Curator Shoshana Wasserman (Thlopthlocco Tribal Town/Muscogee Nation).

Wasserman said the newest addition to FAM is important because it celebrates the lifeways of the 39 tribes in Oklahoma today, from the perspective of Indigenous peoples. The center includes lighting and audio that help change day into night and move through all four seasons within one hour.

Wasserman and Kimberly Rodriguez, FAM communications project coordinator and co-curator, collaborated with artists and tribal representatives to create the space. They included tribal cultural references, imagery and humor to ensure Indigenous cultures in Oklahoma today will enchant FAM’s youngest visitors.

While it is a children’s space, it encourages whole family connection and the message it sends is important for both children and their parents, the Indigenous values of community, respect, resilience and stewardship which unite all people.

“We knew we wanted it to be some place engaging that would allow family connections to happen,” Wasserman said. “We started to think about what makes our communities different as Native peoples and what makes us the same as human beings, and we came up with this idea of ‘we are all connected.’”

Admission to the FAMily Discovery Center is included with FAM’s general admission price. The FAMily Discovery Center requires a timed entry and waivers to be signed for guests who want to climb along tree top trail. Children must be 42” tall or 5 years old to climb without an adult. Close-toed shoes are suggested for climbing. For more information, visit famok.org.