Arizona Science Center

The Cosmic Playground experience being constructed in the Arizona Science Center.

What are some possible uses for tape? Did constructing a playground come to mind?

Eric Lennartson and a team of volunteers spent hours at the Arizona Science Center passing rolls of tape around and around to create tunnels big enough for people to climb through. Imagine the tube of a water slide — but made of shiny packaging tape. They even used a long paint roller and a ladder to pass rolls of tape to one another over the tops of the tunnels.

But when people visit the finished playground, they won’t feel like they’re inside an Amazon package. The Science Center will use special lighting to transport visitors to outer space.

"It will feel a little bit like climbing through the galaxy, with the lights a little bit dim and feeling like you’re squeezing through a wormhole section, going from the wide opening to that narrow middle and coming back out again on the other side," said Sari Custer, vice president of Curiosity at the Science Center. "It’s really going to be just ... immersive!" 

But how many rolls of tape does it take to build an indoor playground?

The Show spoke with Lennartson about the Cosmic Playground project which, after two weeks of construction, is open now for exploration.