The Pigeon Comes to Long Island! A Mo Willems Exhibit – Review by Ali King
Mo Willems is the quintessential writer of children’s books. It is thus no surprise his exhibit The Pigeon Comes to Long Island! A Mo Willems Exhibit, making its debut at Long Island Children’s Museum, did not disappoint.
The new exhibit, running through May 14, 2023, was co-organized by Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, and is inspired by the art and characters of the beloved children’s book author and illustrator, Mo Willems.
Familiar characters are featured in the exhibit, including best friend duo Elephant and Piggie, faithful companion Knuffle Bunny, The Pigeon, the wily city bird best known for his antics in Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Activities offer visitors the opportunity to make art inspired by Mo Willems and to learn about the rich social and emotional lives of the author’s characters. The exhibit also features illustrations, including sketches and other preliminary materials, by Mo Willems.
My son’s school uses many of Mo Willem’s books, and his favorite is The Pigeon Has to Go To School. Please understand my three-year-old is super active, and I was skeptical about taking him to an exhibit in a museum. Nevertheless, we ventured out because “The Pigeon was coming to Long Island!!” (LOL), and my little guy couldn’t miss the show. We felt called out to go!!
In this play-and-learn exhibit visitors can:
- Have a hilarious conversation in the voices of Elephant, Gerald and Piggie at a double-sided phone booth.
- Make Elephant and Piggie dance with old-time animation.
- Put on a wearable bus and take a drive through the exhibit.
- Spin the laundromat washing machine and uncover Knuffle Bunny and other surprises!
- Dress up Naked Mole Rat and send him down the runway for a one-of-a-kind fashion show.
- Stack lightweight blocks to create their own terrible monster or funny friend.
- Launch foam hot dogs at the Pigeon and play the plinko game to give the Duckling a cookie.
- Try out techniques that Mo uses for his own books.
The exhibit was fun and filled with activities right from the pages of his iconic books. The excitement of the “Now Showing” Pigeon Palace sign truly delighted my son because of the captions underneath and the movie-like reels on display.
His two favorites of the exhibition were the wearable buses. We were able to reference his beloved book and the buses. He was so excited to see the bus stop and park in the parking spot. I must admit that I really wish they were my size because I would have engaged in some of the activities (Lol). I was not able to snap a photo because I was so engaged in playing with Hunter that I totally forgot about the pics.
Some key points to note are the social aspect of the activities. I was impressed with the Thank-O-Rama! Spinning the wheel and where it stops are the people you will say thank you to. This was so sweet because my son thanked the bus driver and his teacher. And, the laundromat was great as my son was able to connect this to home.
The play and the socialization for children are what makes this so special, and to bring to life the books, made this experience beyond memorable. We are all the more fans of Mo, and will advise my son’s schoolmates to check out the Museum.
Parents take your kids and have a blast! Don’t forget to be a kid yourself. It’s the best time ever!
Long Island Children’s Museum features various public workshops throughout the exhibit’s stay. Long Island Children’s Museum has a host of other activities and programs and will from now on be one of my go to places.
Visitors to the Children’s Museum will be able to spend lots of time with Willems’ characters as the LICM Theater will feature Elephant & Piggie’s “We are in a Play!” (April 23 – June 3) along with Willem’s newest production Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical! (February 11-March 25 to complement the exhibit experience. Performances will be offered for both family and school audiences.
Visit www.licm.org.
