Building Stories: National Building Museum Opens Decade-Long Exhibit

What can you find in children’s books? Quite a lot it seems—so much so that the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, has launched Building Stories, a multigenerational exhibition; the long-term exhibition that will bring kids and adults alike on an immersive exploration of the world of architecture, engineering, construction, and design found in the pages of children’s books.

The exhibit, which will occupy four thousand square feet, will be on display for ten years.

Partnering with curator Leonard Marcus, the nation’s leading expert on children’s literature, and Portland, OR-based exhibition and experiential design studio Plus And Greater Than, Building Stories provides a portal into the wonder of the built environment through the imaginative lens of children’s books.

Designed for a multigenerational audience with special attention paid to children in grades K-3, Building Stories features beloved children’s classics and modern-day offerings from award winning authors including Sophie Blackall, Ezra Jack Keats, and Květa Pacovská, among many others. Stories such as 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, among hundreds of other titles, help children establish their place in the world, starting with the concept of home, in all its forms.

“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.”

In the exhibition, visitors will encounter familiar classics and new favorites through hands-on activities, media installations, sketching, reading, and building stories of their own. Award-winning author/illustrators David Macaulay and Oliver Jeffers have collaborated with the Museum to create original environments within the exhibition.

Macaulay’s space will offer insight into his creative process and allow visitors to better understand the worlds created in books, while Jeffers’ concluding installation encourages us all to engage in making the world a better place.

For more information about the museum, visit www.nbm.org. &