Soon, the hammering and drilling sounds of construction will be replaced by the sounds of kids' laughter and chatter as the children's interactive museum known as The Magic House expands further.

The museum, at 516 S. Kirkwood Road, is undergoing a $15 million expansion expected to be completed in December 2008.

The expansion was slated to debut this summer, but inclement weather through the winter and spring stalled the project.

Construction is now going smoothly on the 32,000-square-foot addition to the existing 24,500-square-foot structure. The renovation campaign, deemed "So Much More - Right Next Door," will add space for new exhibits and learning spaces as well as practical needs that will help the museum be even more family friendly. New spaces will include additional rest rooms, a kitchen for catering, a loading dock, 100 more parking spaces and a large lobby for receiving groups of school children.

The expansion promises new interactive educational areas that will delight children of all ages. Beth Fitzgerald, president of the museum, said the Magic House works with educational advisers from surrounding communities to make sure exhibits meet the visiting children's educational needs.
 
 The new addition is designed to match the style of the original Victorian-era building. A distinctive round tower houses a staircase.

Fitzgerald said many teachers and educators serve on an advisory board which was part of the development process. Deans of many St. Louis-area schools and the superintendents of both the Webster Groves and Kirkwood school districts also participate.

"We asked them what areas of the school curriculum needed support," Fitzgerald said.

This led to the museum's new interactive civic exhibit, "The Star Spangled Center." A simulated oval office, legislative chamber and courtroom will allow children to explore American government. An exhibit in the oval office will allow children the opportunity to hold a press conference behind a podium. The conference is then aired on televisions inside the exhibit.

The legislative chamber simulates the voting process, giving children the chance to vote on issues they care about. These include whether seat belts should be mandatory on school buses or whether skateboarding should be allowed on sidewalks.

"The Magic House has a strong respect for children's abilities," Fitzgerald said, pointing out that issues are being addressed in a non-partisan way in the exhibit. "We feel like children are able to care about real issues. They're very concerned about the environment and safety issues."

She said the exhibit will also teach children how their voices can be heard through writing letters to their local representatives.

The third portion of the legislative exhibit, the courtroom, will teach children about the judicial branch of government, with a judge's bench, jury box and witness stand.

Other new exhibits will adhere to the goals of the Association of Children's Museums, of which The Magic House is one of 250 members nationwide. The group's "Good to Grow!" campaign promotes healthy eating habits, reducing time spent in front of televisions and computer screens, while helping kids connect with nature through outdoor play.

The Magic House's new rooftop garden will promote these goals by giving visitors the chance to work in the soil in potting beds. The exhibit, based on the book, "Growing Vegetable Soup," by Louis Ehrlert, will include vegetable plants to be flanked by trellises serving as safety fences.

"We want kids to be up high and feel that sense of power on the rooftop," Fitzgerald said.

Other new outdoor play and learning additions include a playground with a construction theme and an outdoor garden with a yellow-brick-road style path and old-fashioned games, such as hopscotch.

Another newly constructed major exhibit expands children's imaginations as well as critical thinking skills by allowing them to be detectives. This old-fashioned study includes bookshelves, one of which revolves to expose a forensics lab where children solve a crime.

Other new exhibits also promote literature and poetry, including a space where children can write poems on leaf-shaped paper and post them on a tree structure. Future visitors will then be able to read and share these thoughts and poems.

Kevin Cordray is the senior project engineer for Paric Corporation, the company building the additions. He said the company is working hard to ensure the additions fit with the original Victorian-era building that houses The Magic House. He said these considerations include using high-quality cherry wood on stairways and adding crown molding and large baseboards.

The Magic House, having raised $11.3 million, is several million dollars away from paying for the planned improvements. To raise the necessary funds, the museum is selling bricks for the play garden inscribed with the purchaser's name for $200 each and inscribed stepping stones for $350 each.

Benches for the garden will be adorned with the names of those who contribute $2,500, and contributors can have a name plaque placed in front of one of the garden's many trees for $1,000. The museum also welcomes larger donations.

The Magic House St. Louis Children's Museum was founded in 1979 in an old Victorian house on Kirkwood Road by two young mothers. Over the course of the next 25 years, the museum grew into one of the top children's museums in the nation with over 400,000 visitors annually.