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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: BUILDING MUSEUM CHILDREN’S BOOKS
HEADLINE: DC’s Building Museum Exhibition Immerses Children in the World of Books
TEASER:
PUBLISHED: 01/26/2024 at 7:49a
BYLINE: Maxim Adams
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE:
VIDEOGRAPHER: Andrey Degtyarev
VIDEO EDITOR: Andrey Degtyarev, Anna Rice
SCRIPT EDITORS: KEnochs; DLJ
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA News + Agencies TBD
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV __ RADIO __
TRT: 3:11
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: Please return to Anna Rice and copy to HFR when done.))
((INTRO))
[[Washington, DC has turned the National Building Museum into a wonderland of children's literature. Using children's books, it’s an immersive journey into architecture, engineering and design. Maxim Adams has the story.]]
((NARRATION))
Showcasing over 150 children’s books from 28 countries and five continents, written in the last 200 years – the new exhibition at the National Building Museum is called Building Stories. The exhibition is one of the most ambitious ones the Museum has ever had and will stay open to the public for a decade.
Aileen Fuchs is executive director of the National Building Museum.
((Aileen Fuchs, National Building Museum Executive Director)) ((00:35))
“Our mission is to inspire curiosity about the world we design and build. And I can’t imagine a more joyful, wonderous and on-point way to do that than through the lens of children’s books.”
((NARRATION))
Classics like Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland meet contemporary children’s books like Harry Potter and Jumanji as immersive landscapes, 3D pictures, video and audio installations bring them to life.
The exhibition also shows how books can change the societal narrative.
((Leonard Marcus, Exhibition Curator)) ((03:51))
“Think of Pippi Longstocking from Sweden, from the 1940s. // She’s totally self-sufficient, which is the opposite of the way children are often allowed to live in the world.”
((NARRATION))
Leonard Marcus is an expert in children’s literature and the exhibition curator; he handpicked every book for this exhibition.
((Leonard Marcus, Exhibition Curator)) ((02:32))
“Some of the books are about home itself, some are about leaving home, some are about not having a home and having to cope with life in that situation. Some are about being forced to leave your home, as a refugee.”
((NARRATION))
Many children’s books depict fantastical worlds where kids can be in control.
The change in perspective and scale also plays tricks on visitors. A gallery called Scale Play makes visitors feel very small emphasizing the idea of navigating the adult world when you are young – a recurring theme in children’s literature.
Cathy Frankel works at the Building Museum.
((Cathy Frankel, National Building Museum)) ((00:22))
“What we realized is that children’s books – at their base is the idea of finding your place in the world and finding your grounding, which is a great sentiment, but also what the Building Museum is about. We’re not only about structures, but we’re about how they impact you.”
((NARRATION))
American author and illustrator David Macaulay dedicated one gallery to the process of creating children’s books. He took his book about Rome architecture as an example.
((David Macaulay, Book Author and Illustrator)) ((01:05))
“I was desperately looking for the right way of paying tribute to the city. That was all in color… And then I threw away the color and thought – I should keep it black and white, keep it simple – so that you really appreciate the richness of the architecture, the details and so on…”
((NARRATION))
On top of exhibitions, the museum has a reading room with over 200 books to be enjoyed, and the youngest visitors can also create their own story from special soft blocks.
((Maxim Adams, VOA News, Washington))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington
BylineMaxim Adams
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
