The energetic visual style of Richard Scarry's works springs to life at a new Museum of Science and Industry exhibit.
By SHARON KENNEDY WYNNE
Published May 15, 2003
[Photo: MOSI]
Children at Busytown can play in a grocery store or power plant, pretend they’re a factory worker or crane operator and work with air hoses that can be used to activate pinwheels and other air-powered objects.
The nice thing about Richard Scarry books is that a single page can occupy a child for as long as it takes most parents to read a stack of bedtime stories. And it's that visually packed world where preschoolers learn their shapes, colors and letters that inspired "Busytown," a new bilingual science exhibit opening Saturday at the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa.
Just like Scarry's books, there is a method to the madness of cranes, tunnels, conveyor belts and railroad tracks of Busytown, aimed at ages 2 through 10.
As they are counting, sorting, weighing and building, the kids pick up scientific processes, mathematical concepts, motor skills, coordination, communication and cooperation, said Dave Conley, vice president of exhibits for MOSI.
"This is based on the activity that is suggested in his books," Conley said of Scarry's hyper visual style. "Kids are busy doing things through this exhibit, and there is a lot to do in the 5,000 square feet of it."
Created in 1994 at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, the exhibit started traveling around the country a year later and has proved wildly popular. So far, more than 40 museums have hosted one of the three Busytown exhibits, eight of them hosting it twice, which is fairly rare in the museum community.
Many of the science museums that have hosted the exhibit have seen a boost in attendance, Conley said, and MOSI is hoping for that same excitement.
Like Scarry's books, there's a lot to take in and a lot to learn. And fans of the books will also find some familiar characters, including Lowly Worm, Huckle Cat and Sergeant Murphy.
In the world of Busytown, there is a grocery store, factory, shipyard, computer stations, a power plant, construction area and a reading and block building area. As they enter the world, kids can play the part of a factory worker, crane operator or construction worker.
There are time clocks, railroad tracks, conveyor belts, tunnels, a cargo ship, funnel phones and carts. Air hoses can be used to activate pinwheels and other air-powered objects.
And it's not just the kids the exhibitors aim to teach. Parents can find information in Busytown for them, with suggestions and helpful hints that will assist in teaching and playing with their children.
"There are leaflets and signs throughout the exhibit," Conley said. "They tell you what your child is learning at each station and what to notice your child doing and how to help them do it."
If you go
The Museum of Science and Industry presents "Busytown," a bilingual interactive exhibit based on the stories of renowned author and illustrator Richard Scarry, Saturday through Sept. 14. 4801 E Fowler Ave., Tampa. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends. (813) 987-6100 or www.mosi.org Admission for ages 13-59 is $14.95; seniors 60 and older, $12.95; children 2-12, $10.95; children under 2 free.
