National Building Museum to host exhibition on the architecture of children’s books

The National Building Museum is set to open a new exhibition centered on architecture found in children’s books. Occupying a 4,000-square-foot space on the museum’s ground floor, the Building Stories exhibition is described by organizers as “the most ambitious exhibition ever undertaken by the museum and will be on display for ten years.”

The show has been curated by Leonard Marcus, a leading expert on children’s literature, alongside the Portland, Oregon-based exhibition and experiential design studio Plus And Greater Than. Designed for a multigenerational audience, with special attention paid to children in grades K-3, the exhibition will feature hundreds of classic and modern-day works, including Goodnight Moon, Winnie-the-Pooh, The Snowy Day, Eloise, The Phantom Tollbooth, The Hobbit, Rome Antics, Harold and the Purple Crayon, Last Stop on Market Street, and Here We Are.

Within the exhibition, visitors will explore the literary worlds through hands-on activities, media installations, sketching, reading, and building stories of their own. Award-winning authors and illustrators David Macaulay and Oliver Jeffers have also collaborated with the museum on original environments within the exhibition to explore both the fictional worlds and the creative process behind them.

“We are ecstatic to open Building Stories to the public after many years of planning,” said Aileen Fuchs, president and executive director of the National Building Museum. “Building Stories celebrates the impact that children’s literature has had on all of us, and how it has helped us find our place in the world. Like books do, we hope the exhibition will transport visitors to new places and spark curiosity and thoughtful conversation about the built environment and how we can all be agents of change for a more sustainable and equitable future.”

The exhibition will open on Sunday, January 21st, 2024, with a free community celebration day.