From this tree house, you can see Saturn. Museum’s exhibit for children under construction

The planets are aligning for the anticipated opening of the newest exhibit coming to the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature this fall.

Thursday, the last of the planets were hung from the ceiling of the new Mosaic Backyard Universe, an interactive exhibit aimed at younger children to help them explore nature and science.

“The exhibition is especially built for early learners. That’s a fancy word for basically 2 to 8 years old,” said Remi Gonzalez, director of communications for the museum. “This is going to be something super fun for everybody. We really want families to come in and have fun with the kids. There’s going to be all sorts of things for them to do.”

A look around the room shows the basic layout is being pieced together, but there’s still plenty of work to do before they open the doors. Blueprint plans hung on the tree house exhibit while workers helped install Saturn in front of a hand-painted sky and set a paintbrush to whatever needed a fresh coat.

Under the scaled-down versions of the planets and safely on the ground, what will be made to look like a cardboard spaceship will show short videos on a loop.

The exhibit will include a 30-foot artificial tree that will have an exposed root system for children to explore, a tree house and sandbox where visitors will be able to dig for fossils of a saber-tooth cat. Gonzalez said the tree will be one of the last things installed in August as it’s expected take a couple of weeks to finish.

A pond-like freshwater habitat area nearby will feature various wildlife exhibits that will likely change depending on the season. For the opening, Gonzalez said they’ll have turtles living in the water.

The Mosaic Backyard Universe, a 3,290-square-foot space, was expected to be completed in June, but they are now looking to open in early fall. Work on the exhibit began in January

“It’s a really good entry point for everything they can experience when they’re a little bit older in the rest of the Bishop,” Gonzalez said.

One of the points of the exhibit was for it to cater to the ever-changing interests of children while allowing for hands-on interaction.

The entire space, including the tree house, will meet Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines, Dave Piper, president and CEO of Brilliant Creative Fabrication, the company that completed designs and will be responsible for the fabrication and installation of the interior components of the Mosaic Backyard Universe, previously told the Bradenton Herald.

“It’s built in a way that we’re not trying to get kids to act like grown-ups. It’s not a miniature grocery store, it’s not a miniature fire station. It really is an environment where many kids first learn to feel safe exploring science and nature — a backyard,” Gonzalez said.

When it’s ready and open, Gonzalez said they expect it to be hugely popular.

The Mosaic Backyard Universe is just part of an expansion to the museum that includes the 4,000 square-foot North Education Center. Gonzalez said the North Education Center is almost complete, but they will wait to open the new wing until the Mosaic Backyard Universe is ready.

Overall, the ongoing expansion and other improvement projects, like renovations to the aquarium, restrooms, stairs and roofing will cost $12 million.

The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature changed its name and re-branded in April to bring the South Florida Museum and Bishop Planetarium under one umbrella and name the entire space for the Bishop family. The local family was instrumental in getting the museum off the ground and have continued to support it.