Rockscapes of Canada, a leading creator of themed rockwork for the attractions industry, is celebrating the opening of London Children’s Museum’s new home at 100 Kellogg Lane in London, Ontario, Canada. The company worked on several of the exhibits inside the new building.
The London Children’s Museum now occupies 36,000 square feet on the fourth floor of the historic Kellogg’s factory. With a central location and easy access, this venue will offer millions of children and families enhanced interactive play, innovative exhibits, and communal areas to learn and grow together for years to come.
Rockscapes of Canada contributed to the Branching Out exhibit, Unearthed: Dinosaur Dig Pit, the Bat Cave, the Ice Cave, and the STREAM exhibit.
New exhibits
The Branching Out exhibit at the London Children’s Museum showcases the effort behind creating realistic environments. From the detailed bark textures to the shaped branches with rustling leaves, each tree is made to inspire imagination and connection. These aren’t just trees—they’re artistic pieces that turn the indoor space into a magical forest.
Meanwhile, Unearthed: Dinosaur Dig Pit is an interactive space designed to spark curiosity and imagination as kids uncover fossils and step into the shoes of a real palaeontologist. The team at Rockscapes worked to make this feature fun, educational, and engaging.
For the Bat Cave, the company transformed an empty room into a fully immersive bat cave, similar to one that travellers could explore in Australia, the Philippines or Malaysia. To achieve this transformation, the team worked on rocky textures, stalactites, hanging bats, hidden spiders, animal sculptures and even rock climbing features.
The STREAM exhibit is home to an interactive water table measuring nearly 70 feet, created by Boss Display. For this piece, Rockscapes of Canada added a waterfall feature alongside an artificial rock arched entryway and massive rock wall.
Finally, the team also created a one-of-a-kind Ice Cave exhibit, marking the first time the firm has crafted artificial ice and snow. The immersive design features realistic icy textures and snow-covered panels, brought to life with colour-changing lighting that shifts behind the snowy surfaces, creating a truly magical atmosphere. This unique installation allows visitors to enter a frozen world, making it an unforgettable experience for all ages.
Inspiring the next generation
Inspiring the next generation of designers, builders, and dreamers has always been at the heart of the company’s philosophy. It believes that sharing expertise isn’t just about teaching- it’s about sparking curiosity, creativity, and a passion for craftsmanship.
This year, it hosted its third annual presentation to Fanshawe College’s Landscape Design course, taking students behind the scenes at the London Children’s Museum. By visiting the project site as the exhibits were taking shape, the students could connect their classroom knowledge to real-world possibilities.
For the Rockscapes of Canada team, it was an opportunity to showcase the endless possibilities of artificial rockwork in shaping functional and artistic environments, as well as to inspire confidence in the next wave of designers and build a bridge between education and industry, empowering students to see the potential of their careers.
“The Children’s Museum visit was a semester highlight for the students; they loved it, and I’m so appreciative we could make it happen,” said Sara Bellaire, coordinator & professor. “I ended up buying a family membership for 2025 for my kids as I know they will love the new space – it’s incredible, and you should all be very proud.”
A space for all
Reflecting on the new space, Laura Lyons, daughter of London Children’s Museum founder Carol Johnston, says:
“I think it’s a space that meets all ages. I think it is an area that is accessible to all families in London which I think is a really important part of my mother’s dream – that all families should be able to come to the London Children’s Museum and spend quality time together. I think that’s really the important part of what the museum brings to our community.”
Padraic Mangan, VP of operations and artist at Rockscapes of Canada, adds:
“We’ve gotten to work alongside so many incredible trades, exceptional workers, and the museum staff to bring this vision to life. I love how willing everybody has been to create the best exhibits for future children and families who visit!
“One part I like is how personal all the touches are. Like in the dinosaur dig pit – the drawings show monolith rock that represents the badlands, but we were able to add elements like seashells, dominoes, and even mementos from the original London Children’s Museum. It just feels heartwarming and personal. I think it’s going to be cool for visitors to explore.”
“So many people have come in and shared how connected they are to the original museum and how important it is for the community. So, we knew the community was counting on us to create something incredible for children and families.
“I can’t begin to explain the feeling you have when you get to show your child what you have built. The whole time working London Children’s Museum I was building for her. Knowing this incredible space was going to become a staple for all of Ontario, I want her to grow up proud knowing we built that!”
The new London Children’s Museum project is funded in part by the City of London, the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Museums Assistance Program, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), and Canadian Space Agency, and the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund.
The lead exhibition designer was Reich&Petch, working with SKOLNICK Architecture. Lighting is by Gabriel Mackinnon Architectural Lighting Design, exhibition fabrication was done by kubik maltbie and Boss Display, and the architect was Cornerstone Architecture Incorporated.
Rockscapes of Canada
Rockscapes of Canada uses innovative methods to create granite and limestone reproductions of rock walls, outcrops, and waterfalls. It uses latex moulds to replicate real rock’s shape, texture, and details, with rigid backing to maintain shape over time. A proprietary polypropylene fibre-reinforced cement (PPFRC) is sprayed into the moulds, ensuring quality maintenance in various climates for over twenty-five years.
Clients can provide Rockscapes of Canada Inc. with any design, which is then realised by expert craftspeople using the company’s extensive moulds. In addition to rockwork, Rockscapes of Canada creates hyper-realistic trees and roots, allowing clients to design natural habitats and themed environments. It also produces themed elements like signage and fossils.
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