© 2011 Minnesota Children’s Museum. All rights reserved. Storyland: A Trip Through Childhood Favorites™ was created by Minnesota Children’s Museum with support from the State of Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy amendment.

Story Land GoalsStoryland will provide a fun and joyful book-based experience for children that:

• models early literacy experiences and high quality books to caregivers; • highlights the importance of talking and reading with children; • presents specific strategies for supporting literacy; and • leads the children’s museum field in developing exceptional early literacy environments and experiences.

Entry to StorylandNearby, the Sub-Entry displays icons and descriptions of six early literacy skills that adults can help children build starting from birth. Throughout the exhibit, adults encounter the same icons on interactives that demonstrate and reinforce thesix early literacy skills. Six ovals each feature a literacy skill icon and name. Adults can lift the outer covering of each oval to read a specific tip for how they can help children cultivate the featured early literacy skill. In the center of the six ovals is a larger oval with the text, “Help children build these sixskills for reading. Starting at birth!”

Reflection Kiosk A touch-screen kiosk located on the back of the Sub-Entry provides visitors with the opportunity to reflect on and respond to the seven book areas in the exhibit. The series of screens present three questions based on the visitor’s experience to stimulate conversation between children and their adult companions, or reflective thinking for an individual visitor.

Word Play Station This game station encourages playful, face-to-faceinteraction between adults and children around literacyactivities. At the center of a triangular-shaped table is apyramid with game card holders on all three sides and a spinner on top.

Writing and Drawing Station Greetings from Storyland provides opportunities for young visitors to write and draw, while encouraging adult companions to see how drawing and writing at any level are important components of literacy.

Adjacent to the Writing and Drawing Station, visitors can take a photo of their artwork using a document camera.

Outside Peter’s Bedroom

The brick wall of Peter’s building is painted in shades of pink with frosty blue snowflakes to recreate the image featured in the book. Using snowflake-shaped magnetic tiles printed with winter vocabulary and alphabet letters, visitors can compose their own snowy magnetic poetry.

Peter’s BedroomPeter’s bedroom provides a cozy spot to read a collection of snow-themed books. If visitors wish to dress for outdoor winter play, carves and down vests hang on hooks on the wall.

On one wall, a window features panels that allow visitors to flip between scenes in the book.

Snowscape Visitors step past a brightly colored wall panel featuring the book’s cover to follow Peter’s footprints through the urban snowscapeAs children physically follow a line of the book’s text about walking in the snow, their movement triggers the words “crunch,crunch, crunch.”

Spot the Pairs Four rows of square tiles line a short wall to together form a single image of Spot. When visitors flip each tile, they find a textured image of an animal from the Spot books. Visitors play a memory game, turning over the tiles to find the matching pairs of animals.

Rolling Tumbler Three rolling cylinders present segmented images of items from the Spot books (a flower, crayon, and shovel) divided into top, middle and bottom sections. Visitors roll the cylinders to match and mismatch the parts of the objects.

Lift the FlapsA two foot-high, square wall panel is divided into four doors, each engraved with a finger-groove outline of a letter from the word “SPOT.” Infants and toddlers open the doors, discovering developmentally appropriate visual and audio surprises.

Where’s Spot? Eric Hill This Tot Spot highlights how literacy development begins at birth. A triangular station with seating for adults encourages babies and young toddlers to explore sounds and images through "lift-the-flap" busy wallinteractives and matching and memory activities.

Peter Rabbit Track Maze A free-standing 4’ high wedge shaped like a partially open book displays the book cover of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Mounted on the pages of the book is a laminated copy of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The reverse side of the panel displays a track maze on which visitors can move figures of Peter and his bunny family around an illustrated map of Mr. McGregor's garden and Peter Rabbit's burrow. Visitors may use the map to tell and retell the story of Peter Rabbit.

Mr. McGregor’s Garden Separated from Peter’s Burrow by a section of a white picket fence, the garden features rows for planting vegetables. Children plant andarrange prop vegetables and row markers to make patterns in the garden. The row markers feature the vegetables’ names and images.

Peter’s Burrow A partially enclosed burrow inside a tree trunk represents Peter’s family home, large enough for a few children and a person in a wheelchair to occupy. To encourage dramaticplay, bunny ears, cloaks and tail coats (with cotton tails) are available on hooks. The burrow features three distinct areas: the bedroom, the hearth and the kitchen.