A sneak peek at the new Very Eric Carle exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh

Eric Carle’s iconic picture books have a permanent place on the bookshelves and in the hearts of many Pittsburgh families. And in a much-anticipated new exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, you can step into the pages of your favorite Carle classics.

Opening June 13, Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry. Quiet. Lonely. Clumsy. Busy Exhibit invites families to become the heroes and heroines of five of Carle’s most famous books: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Quiet Cricket, The Very Lonely Firefly, The Very Clumsy Click Beetle and The Very Busy Spider. “We designed the exhibit’s activities so that kids will recognize the stories and actually become the characters in these books,” says Penny Lodge, director of museum experiences.

Divided into five thematic sections—each based on a different book—visitors can follow the hungry caterpillar’s plundering path to becoming a butterfly, weave the busy spider’s web using hand-crocheted textiles, tumble through four-foot blades of “grass” like the clumsy click beetle, compose a symphony with the quiet cricket and help the lonely firefly find a mate. “You’ll see areas that clearly reflect back to the books,” says Lodge, “It’s an experience where kids can really immerse themselves in the environment and these stories.”

Created in collaboration with the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Massachusetts, Very Eric Carle has been in development for 15 months. During the process, the Museum’s exhibit team delved into not just the stories, but also the unique “collage” technique Carle used to create their artwork. “We were able to see Eric’s studio and were so inspired by it. By how he stored his paper, by his techniques and by the beauty of the artwork,” says Lodge, who worked with developers, designers and fabricators to recreate a smaller-scale, hands-on “Studio” in Very Eric Carle.

But the exhibit is not just about Carle’s storylines and artistic techniques. It’s also about honoring who he is. “We wanted to be sure we portrayed him accurately as a person,” says Lodge. “We bring Eric into the exhibit. We use a lot of his quotes and display pieces of his art that are reflective of him and his process.” And though his books may seem simple, the exhibit’s quotes reveal the beautiful messages Carle embedded deep within them, such as this: “The Very Hungry Caterpillar is about hope. You, like the little caterpillar, will grow up, unfold your wings and and fly off into the future.”

As the Museum prepares to debut Very Eric Carle, we are reminded that these stories are often our children’s very first introduction to the world of books—and what a magical place this exhibit proves it to be!

A visit to the Very Eric Carle exhibit is included in the price of admission to the Children’s Museum. The exhibit will be in Pittsburgh through September 20, 2015 and will then begin its multi-year run as a traveling exhibit. The Museum is hoping to make the exhibit as interactive as possible, and is encouraging visitors to share their experience on social media using the hashtag #howicarle.