Creation 3-D Mural details, Goodwood Church of Christ

I finally had the privilege today of meeting JoHannah Stroud in person and touring the Goodwood Church of Christ Education Hall! Also there for the tour was Terry McClure, the talented volunteer who did much of the painting. You can read their rotation story here: A "Sunday School Makeover" Story" from Goodwood Church of Christ.

Please note that my photos do not do justice for the amazing 3-dimensional wonder that is their Bible timeline. JoHannah included some comments in the posts above about materials that they used, and I will try to add a few more. But if you have any questions, please reach out to @JStroud - she is very willing to share her excitement about their programming as well as their space transformation with other churches.

Their children's wing is in two sections. The one end of the hallway is dedicated to the Workshop Rotation classrooms. But first you enter at the beginning - the nursery and preschool classroom end of the hallway is an immersion in the Genesis creation story experience. JoHannah has posted some pictures above, and also a video that lets you experience the soundtrack as well as get a feel for the space. Here are a few pictures I took showing some of the three-dimensionality of the space:

Close-up tree texture. A carpet roll was the round form and spray foam is the bark texture. The foam was painted and then decorated with moss and silk leaves.

Looking from the young children end of the hallway with the creation mural down to the rotation model hallway with the rest of the Bible timeline - Old Testament stories on the right, starting with Noah. The double doors at the end of the hallway have a sign noting that "God's voice EXITed for 400 years" (pictured below) and the New Testament stories are on the right side of the hallway, starting with the birth of Jesus by the double doors and the ending with the Epistles.

Many of the stuffed animals are velcroed to the wall so parents can let their children touch and hold them (also note that the stuffed animals are all high enough that the children can not pull them down themselves). Throughout the mural, there are textural elements that invite touch!

Adam and Eve detail. Initially, Terry (the volunteer artist) painted all of the figures. As the mural developed, she realized she could save time by making copies of pictures from Bibles as well as flannelboard figures and mod-podging them to the wall. Notice how storage doors are incorporated into the mural and disappear.

Note booklet on a ring hanging from the 3-D tree: this contains pictures that families can look at as a guide to exploring the mural as they search for the pictured item.