New exhibit brings Fred Rogers' lessons to life
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Kids can travel through a trolley tunnel connecting the Neighborhood of Make-Believe with Someplace Else at the new "It's a Beautiful Day to Be You," exhibit. Photo: Chrissy Suttles/Axios
The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh is debuting a new Fred Rogers-inspired exhibit that will tour the country.
Why it matters: Rogers' ideas about childhood still influence the museum's exhibits, including his belief that play should honor children as whole people and speak to the child in all of us.
- "We don't target specific age groups because, as Fred used to say, you're all the ages you ever have been," says Children's Museum executive director Jane Werner.
The big picture: The 3,000-square-foot exhibit, "It's a Beautiful Day to Be You," blends familiar faces and places from "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood," and "Donkey Hodie" to teach kindness, curiosity, bravery and collaboration to a new generation.
Context: The Children's Museum spent three years developing "Beautiful Day" with Fred Rogers Productions and support from Lilly Endowment.
- It's the museum's 11th traveling exhibit — the first was a "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" exhibit created in the 1990s in collaboration with Rogers.
- The exhibit, which debuted this weekend, will remain in Pittsburgh through Jan. 3 before heading on a national tour. It will ultimately return to the city for a permanent home.
Between the lines: More than two decades after Rogers' death, Pittsburgh is again the launching point for taking his ideas about childhood to families nationwide.
Zoom in: Kids can travel through a trolley tunnel connecting the Neighborhood of Make-Believe with Someplace Else — but first, they have to wait for a traffic signal, turning a playful trip into a lesson in following cues and managing anticipation.
- Work together to build a song and dance aboard Purple Panda's light-up spaceship, nurture a flower until it blooms in the Enchanted Garden, create moving pictures with a zoetrope and tackle a potato-sorting activity.
What they're saying: "It's important to remember your childhood. I think we have a tendency to not do that as adults. Fred felt it was really important; he always thought about child development and what it meant to be human," says Werner.
Fun fact: You can see original "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" puppets, including Daniel Tiger and Donkey Hodie, at the museum.
If you go: "It's a Beautiful Day to Be You" is in the rotating exhibit space at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh and is included with museum admission. Open daily from 10am–5pm.
- Adults: $21
- Kids 2-18: $19
- Kids under 2: Free
- After 3pm: $8