STORYLAND Opens 5/23 at Crown Center

A literacy-based exhibit created by Minnesota Children's Museum will provide children with essential book-based experiences, while equipping adults with messaging and tools to promote literacy. Storyland: A Trip Through Childhood Favorites opens at Crown Center on Saturday, May 23 and continues through September 7. Admission is complimentary.

Storyland transforms seven beloved and award-winning picture books into three-dimensional, bi-lingual (English and Spanish) play and learning environments that highlight the six pre-reading skills defined by the Public Library Association and Association for Library Service to Children: disposition to read, print awareness, letter knowledge, sound awareness, vocabulary, and narrative skills and comprehension.

Children explore literacy skills and concepts through imaginative, interactive experiences and dramatic play, such as:

Families can immerse themselves in the world of The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, one of the best-selling children's books of all time. Children explore Peter Rabbit's world as they build vocabulary and narrative skills while searching for Peter's lost belongings, harvesting vegetables, and playing in Peter's burrow.

Visitors will get a mouse-eye view of super-sized elements from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff, such as a big glass of milk that encourages children to create new and rhyming words by matching letter magnets to word trunks.

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats welcomes visitors to Peter's wintry world, where a young boy explores his neighborhood after a fresh snowfall. Children have opportunities to build print and sound awareness, as they build a snowperson, and explore wintry sounds and words.

Babies and young toddlers can experiment with busy wall interactives based on Where's Spot? by Eric Hill, a well-known board book about the search for Spot the dog. Adults can get tips about cultivating pre-reading skills in very young children.

Young children explore the alphabet and letter and sound awareness while navigating three tropical islands featured in Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault. Families will also enjoy creating rhythms with steel drums while playing along with the rhythm of the story.

Children can sharpen their narrative skills and vocabulary by delivering news from inside a TV and searching for hidden frogs in Tuesday, a story by David Wiesner about a town mysteriously visited by flying frogs.

An intricate, jewel-like city from Abuela by Arthur Dorros provides visitors opportunities to imaginatively explore patterns while building narrative skills, vocabulary and print and sound awareness.

Storyland: A Trip Through Childhood Favorites is presented by Target. This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The exhibit is open May 23 to September 7. Hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Holiday hours on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Call the Crown Center Information Line at 816-274-8444 or visit www.crowncenter.com for more information.