Kids love trains, and with that firmly in mind, the volunteers at The Rapides Exploratory Education House (TREE House) set out to build a new 800-square-foot interactive railroad exhibit.

In February, 2002, TREE House, an Alexandria, La., children's museum, found itself the recipient of a large collection of HO scale model trains. Donated by retired area industrialist Bill Rockwell, the collection includes more than 300 locomotives and rolling stock, 100 structures, and just under 12 scale miles of track.

Early in 2004 the museum established a train exhibit development committee with the idea of turning the Rockwell collection into an interactive railroad display. The committee, made up of 11 community volunteers led by Kenneth Cox and Louis Bangma, designed and built the new exhibit specifically with small children in mind. They set the benchwork much lower (30") than a typical model railroad. They also lined the perimeter of the layout with Plexiglas panels to provide an unobstructed view of all trains.

The finished layout features a 350-foot main line and will eventually include interactive stations where children can push buttons to activate parts of the display. The layout also includes various "seek and find" challenges, highlighting industrial, agricultural, and architectural points of interest.

The exhibit includes more than just the model railroad, however; it also features an interactive education center for railway safety and history, as well as wood trains that smaller children can play with.

It took the group more than 3,000 hours to complete the project. Chairman Kenneth Cox said, "It's all worth it, however, every time we see the expressions of those kids as they enter the train room."

The Rapides Exploratory Education House, Inc., was started by a group of parents in 1998. The museum opened its doors to the public in May 2000 and is located in the former Arts Warehouse at 1403 Third St., Alexandria, LA 71301. For museum information and hours, call 318-619-9394.