Every summer, ImaginOn, 300 East 7th Street, presents an interactive exhibit for families to explore. It’s free to visit the exhibit, just as it’s free to visit ImaginOn. This summer, from June 9th to September 9th, 2018, Storyland: A Trip through Childhood Favorites will be a fun destination for families.
Here’s everything you need to know, from ImaginOn’s website:
Beloved children’s books will come alive with Storyland: A Trip Through Childhood Favorites, an imaginative, book-based experience for children ages birth to 8 years old, at ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center from June 9 through September 9, 2018.
Storyland transforms seven beloved and award-winning picture books – The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter; The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats; Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill; If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff; Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault; Abuela by Aurthur Dorros; and Tuesday by David Wiesner 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 Services to Children:
- Disposition to read
- Print awareness
- Letter knowledge
- Sound awareness
- Vocabulary and narrative skills
- Comprehension
Children, parents and caregivers will explore literacy skills and concepts through imaginative, interactive experiences and dramatic play, such as:
- Families can immerse themselves in the world of Peter Rabbit as they build vocabulary and narrative skills while searching for Peter’s lost belongings, harvesting vegetables and playing in Peter’s burrow.
- Visitors will get a mouse-eye view of super-sized elements from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, such as a big glass of milk, encouraging children to create new and rhyming words by matching letter magnets to word trunks.
- The Snowy Day welcomes visitors to Peter’s wintry world, where children can build print and sound awareness as they build a snowperson and explore wintry sounds and words.
- Babies and young toddlers can experiment with busy wall interactives based on Where’s Spot?, while adults can get tips about cultivating pre-reading skills in very young children.
- Young children can explore letter and sound awareness while navigating three tropical islands and creating rhythms with steel drums from Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.
- Children will sharpen their narrative skills and vocabulary by delivering news from inside a TV and searching for hidden frogs in Tuesday.
- Children are encouraged to reflect on their Storyland experience by creating a drawing inspired by the books and writing a caption, title or story. A Digital Drawing Cam will capture the paper image and visitors can add it to an electronic gallery of other postcards for visitors to see, and email it home as a souvenir of their experience.
Admission and Hours
Admission to the exhibit is free.
The exhibit is open at ImaginOn (300 E. 7th Street, Charlotte) during building hours: Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday-Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. ImaginOn is closed on Sundays from Memorial Day to Labor Day for summer hours. The exhibit will be at ImaginOn from June 9 to September 9, 2018.
For more information, see below or call 704-416-4600.
Information for Groups
Can I bring a group? Yes! Groups are welcome to visit the exhibit after 12 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Reservations are neither required nor accepted and entry into the exhibit is always on a first-come, first-served basis. However, if you wish to combine your visit to the exhibit with any other building-wide activity and have a group, a group visit booking is required.
Can a group make a reservation to visit the exhibit? No. All visits to the exhibit happen on a first-come, first-served basis. Families are encouraged to take advantage of Family Time if your schedule allows. See below for details.
Is there a time when the exhibit is open just for families? Yes. Family Time for the exhibit is every Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. During this time, the exhibit is open just for children with their parents/caregivers. Limit five children per adult.
Can children visit the exhibit by themselves? Children under age 8 must be with a caregiver at all times. Caretakers should be at least 12 years old and mature enough to follow ImaginOn rules and guidelines. Chaperones are required for all groups visiting ImaginOn and the exhibit.
What if the exhibit is full when I arrive? Because visitor safety is our top priority, admittance into the exhibit is limited. This allows guests the ability to fully explore the exhibit at their own pace. If the exhibit is “full,” we have a queuing area where visitors can wait to enter the exhibit on a first-come, first-served basis. We have suggested activities to pass the time while you are in line.
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