A sweeping exhibition of storytelling opens Jan. 21 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.
The long-term exhibition, titled “Building Stories,” bridges the gap between kids and adults on the intersecting subjects of architecture, engineering, construction, and design that are found in children’s books.
Featuring linked, immersive landscapes, “Building Stories” will be split into four sub-exhibits: Gallery One: “Building Readers,” Gallery Two: “Your Home, My Home,” Gallery Three: “Scale Play,” and Gallery Four: “Wider World.” The first gallery introduces the building blocks of children’s books and the foundations of a young reader’s experience: shapes, colors, forms, and texture. These are juxtaposed with examples in architecture of how form and shape inform content, and vice-versa.
“Your Home, My Home” explores one of the most prevalent themes in children’s literature — home — through the gateway of one of the most ubiquitous stories about the subject: The Three Little Pigs. Gallery Three investigates another important theme young readers confront: navigating the world while small (think Alice in Wonderland or James and the Giant Peach). Guests will walk through a passage that will give the illusion that they are changing size, and explore this phenomena through literature.
The final gallery will unite the themes of the previous three, and invite guests to write, create stories, and build.
The exhibition will be complemented by a free educational program, the Building Readers Club, in which kids can continue to explore the topics of architecture, engineering, construction, and design found in the pages of children’s favorite books.
To learn more or plan a visit to this celebration of reading and building, visit the National Building Museum’s website.
