BECK FAMILY CENTER GALLERY

Popular children’s books come to life in the exhibit 

“Storyland: A Trip Through Childhood Favorites”!

This immersive exhibit originally created by Minnesota Children’s Museum, provides imaginative, book-based experiences for children ages 0 to 8, and models early literacy experiences to parents and other adult caregivers.

Storyland transforms three beloved and award-winning picture books – The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter; The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats; and Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill into three-dimensional play and bi-lingual (English and Spanish) learning environments that highlight the six pre-reading skills defined by the Public Library Association and Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association: disposition to read, print awareness, letter knowledge, sound awareness, vocabulary, and narrative skills and comprehension. 

We welcome all children to explore literacy skills and concepts through imaginative, interactive experiences, and dramatic play. 

• Families are encouraged to immerse themselves in the world of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, 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 having fun with patterns, words, and dramatic play. 

• The Snowy Day welcomes visitors to Peter’s wintry world, where a young boy explores his neighborhood after a fresh snowfall. In addition to dramatic play activities, children have opportunities to build print and sound awareness. 

• The exhibit features an area based on Where’s Spot?, a well-known board book about the search for Spot the dog. Babies and young toddlers will explore sounds and images through busy wall interactives, highlighting how literacy development begins at birth.