Above / Hands-on activities featured in “How People Make Things” aim to bring magic from ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ to Chicagoland area when it opens at DuPage Children’s Museum on Jan. 20, 2020. (DCM Photo)
DuPage Children’s Museum is bringing the magic of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood to the Chicagoland area with the opening of a new exhibit, How People Make Things, on Mon., Jan. 20. Inspired by the factory tour segments from the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood television series, the exhibit tells the story of how familiar childhood objects are made and how people, ideas, and technology transform raw materials into finished products.
How People Make Things offers hands-on activities using real factory tools and machines to create objects using four manufacturing processes – molding, cutting, deforming, and assembly. Visitors can use a die cutter to make a box and a horse, cut wax using different sculpting tools and experience 3-dimensional cutting by hand, deform a wire by taking a straight wire into a spring shape by winding it around the metal shaft, mold spoons using real melted wax, assemble a trolley and test your skills on the testing track, and see Fred Rogers visit real manufacturing factories in vintage Picture Picture videos from the original Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Series.
“How People Make Things provides interactive learning experiences that stimulate curiosity, creativity, thinking, and problem solving in young children,” said Andrea Wiles, President & CEO, DuPage Children’s Museum. “By bringing the manufacturing process to life, this exhibit gives children of all ages the opportunity to learn about and experience many of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) concepts we incorporate into our everyday learning at the Museum.”
Youngsters interact with practical ‘real world’ applications
An opportunity to play in How People Make Things is the perfect answer to a child’s question about where everyday objects, tools, and materials come from.
“This exhibit is an incredible mixture of the necessary science and unexpected artistry of manufacturing,” said Thomas Sullivan, Director of Education and Programs, DuPage Children’s Museum. “It’s an amazing opportunity for children, their families, and their teachers to interact with exhibits that showcase the practical real-world applications of the STEM content they are learning in school.”
DCM has created programming that will complement the exhibit. Beginning in February, Museum visitors can “pop-in” for Maker Play on Tuesdays and Fridays at 1:30PM.
“Maker Play is a fun pop-up experience that will take place in How People Make Things,” Cassie Coffey, Public Programs Manager, DuPage Children’s Museum explains. “Books celebrating creativity, confidence, persistence, and innovation have been carefully curated for story-time, which will launch a hands-on activity that drives imagination and inspires participants to make things.”
The Museum is located at 301 N. Washington Street in Naperville, Illinois, a quick walk from the Naperville Metra train station. Parking is free and the building is wheelchair accessible. For information, visit dupagechildrens.org.
Collaboration and Sponsorship Opportunities
How People Make Things was created by Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh in collaboration with Family Communications, Inc. (FCI), the producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood; and the University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out-of-School Environments (UPCLOSE). The exhibit was made possible with support from the National Science Foundation and The Grable Foundation.
How People Make Things is sponsored locally by USG, The Chamberlain Group, Bulley & Andrews, and Ecolab Foundation.
How People Make Things is open during Museum hours and is included with DCM membership or paid admission. The traveling exhibit will be at DCM through September 6, 2020.
For more information about sponsorship opportunities, contact Renee Miklosik, Director of Development at DCM, rmiklosik@dupagechildrensmuseum.org or 630.637.8000 x2400.
DuPage Children’s Museum
The Museum helps develop curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving in young children through its mission: “DuPage Children’s Museum ignites the potential of all children to learn through hands-on exploration by integrating art, math, and science.” Interactive exhibits and programs make learning fun for children and adults playing together. DCM serves over 300,000 visitors annually representing all 50 states and 575 zip codes in Illinois. DCM’s reach and support represent well beyond the Chicagoland area. The Museum’s impact extends across cultural, financial, and educational boundaries. It touches the lives of children from all regions, providing the foundational building blocks for success in school and life.
Children’s Museum Pittsburgh
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh (www.pittsburghkids.org) is a place that delights and inspires children, where they can take off on fantastic flights of imagination daily, and return to earth to splash in a river, hammer a nail and ink a silkscreen. With 80,000 square feet of space the Museum welcomes more than 307,000 visitors annually and provides tons of fun and loads of “real stuff” experiences for play and learning. Permanent hands-on, interactive exhibit areas at the Museum include The Studio, Theater, Waterplay, Attic, Nursery, Backyard and MAKESHOP®. The Museum’s award-winning, three-story, center building is screened by a shimmering wind Sculpture and connects two historic structures (Allegheny Post Office Building & the Buhl Building). In 2006 the Museum became a certified green building and was honored by the American Institute for Architects and the National Historic Preservation Trust. In 2015 Parents Magazine named the Museum one of the nation’s fifteen top children’s museums and in 2017 the Children’s Museum was Voted One of the Nation’s Ten Best Museums for Families in USA Today 10 Best Reader’s Choice Contest for Best Museum for Families in America. On April 27, 2019 Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh opened MuseumLab™, a new museum for older kids, located in the former Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny adjacent to the Children’s Museum. With the opening of MuseumLab on April 27, 2019, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh has transformed a North Side landmark into an integral component of what is now the nation’s the largest cultural campus for children.
Story submitted by Jaime Johnson for DuPage Children’s Museum.
