Adventures with Clifford The Big Red Dog

Transcription

1 Adventures with Clifford The Big Red Dog A 2,500 square-foot traveling exhibit available from Minnesota Children s Museum Adventures with Clifford The Big Red Dog was created by Minnesota Children s Museum in partnership with Scholastic Entertainment, Inc Scholastic and logos are trademarks of Scholastic Entertainment, Inc. CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG, CLIFFORD, EMILY ELIZABETH and logos are trademarks of Norman Bridwell. All rights reserved.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Overview 2-13 Exhibit Walkthrough 14 Design Framework 15 Audience 16 Goals & Messages 17 Cast of Characters

3 OVERVIEW Adventures with Clifford The Big Red Dog is a 2,500 square-foot exhibit that transports visitors to the homes of Clifford, Emily Elizabeth, and all of the residents of Birdwell Island where they engage in cooperative play activities that foster appropriate social and emotional development. Like tourists visiting Birdwell Island, visitors will start their journey to the exhibit aboard the Birdwell Island Ferry, complete with seagull sounds and clanking ship bells. As visitors pass by the lighthouse and enter Birdwell Island, they discover the world of Clifford, Emily Elizabeth, and the people and places of Birdwell Island. All of the exhibit environments are based on locations found on the PBS Kids Clifford The Big Red Dog television series. Developed by Minnesota Children s Museum and Scholastic Entertainment Size 2,500 square feet Primary Target Audience Ages 2-7, families and groups Languages Exhibit text is in English and Spanish. Support Development resources and Site Support Manual (programming activities, marketing kit, installation guide), Clifford rooftop inflatable, and Clifford costume character 1

4 EXHIBIT WALKTHROUGH Exhibit Entry The lighthouse leads the way for visitors to enter the exhibit. Description A large, round column is painted to mimic the lighthouse found on Birdwell Island. The lighthouse welcomes visitors to the exhibit, credits Scholastic Entertainment and Minnesota Children s Museum, and carries any exhibit sponsor information. Birdwell Island Ferry As visitors enter the exhibit, they pass by the lighthouse and climb aboard the Birdwell Island Ferry. The pilothouse looms large on the ferry, and visitors try their hand at steering the ferry as passengers hear ocean noises and the arrival to Birdwell Island is announced. The pilothouse will accommodate two visitors and is wheelchair accessible. 2

5 Description The ferry is a three-dimensional structure that incorporates natural material into the design. In the pilothouse, the ship s wheel, gauges, and ferry horn all incorporate authentic materials. Characters Victor and Pedro are positioned inside the pilothouse, inviting visitors to take over the wheel. Buttons in the pilothouse activate the arrival announcement, and seagulls and other ocean noises are activated by a motion-sensor as visitors step onto the ferry. Passenger seating is arranged around the deck and can comfortably accommodate up to 8 adults. Birdwell Island Map This map is an overall view of Birdwell Island, and introduces visitors to the geographic elements of an island: a tract of land that is surrounded by water (but smaller than a continent). The community on Birdwell Island is enlarged and highlighted. The perspective of the map is one that puts exhibit visitors into the shoes of Birdwell Island tourists. Sites found in the exhibit are highlighted on the map. 1 channels are cut into the threedimensional map, allowing visitors to move people-pegs around the community just as they will move around the exhibit. As a peg makes contact with a site in the exhibit, (Samuel s restaurant, for example) an image of a character (in this case, Samuel) lights up and welcomes visitors visually. 3

6 Samuel s Fish and Chips Shack The pier on Birdwell Island is alive with the sounds from Samuel s restaurant! Samuel greets visitors at the entrance, and a window at the counter opens up to the pier where visitors sit on stools and place their orders. As visitors step inside the restaurant, they step into the shoes of restaurant workers by cooking, cleaning, serving food, and restocking shelves. A cash register, order pads, and a menu join together to fill out the environment and help promote early literacy and early math skills. Description Samuel s restaurant uses painted wood decking for the floor of the pier, and incorporates scenic painting around the component (based on existing artwork) to immerse the visitor in the experience. The interior of the restaurant incorporates a view out the back window, a stove, counters, and a cash register. Props are used extensively to create an authentic atmosphere for dramatic play. 4

7 Musical Marina As visitors make their way along the pier, they are greeted by Mary and invited to try out various musical instruments. In this kid-sized music station, visitors find Clifford s giant Xylobone, festive maracas, and an assortment of drums. The drums represent drums from around the world, and introduce visitors to cross-cultural music-making. Visitors are encouraged to make music through open-ended play. 5

8 T-Bone s Beach Fun No island is complete without a beach! The character of T-Bone looks over the corner of a large, bone-shaped sand box and welcomes visitors to the beach. A permanent sculpted sand castle rests in the middle of the sand box. The sand castle is actually a three-dimensional puzzle that visitors can take apart and put together. Underneath the three base pieces of the castle puzzle are treasures (a shiny medal, a sea shell, etc.) embedded into the bottom of the sand box. Several other shells of various shapes and sizes sit in the bottom of the sandbox. When visitors lift the shells they find more treasures embedded underneath. A treasure chest stands near the side of the sand box, filled with plastic fish that can be connected together by the youngest visitors. Description The bone-shaped sand box is a raised platform constructed of flexible plywood sides with a maple ledge. The ledge is wide enough to serve as seating for adults. The sand castle is sculpted using carved foam sprayed with elastimer. The bottom of the sandbox has a carved and painted surface that resembles sand. The treasure chest is modeled after existing artwork and is constructed of maple with decorative painting. Curved background panels surround this area and extend the immersive beach environment from the pier. Sand, sky, and beach will all be represented in the panels. 6

9 Clifford The Big Red Dog and his Doghouse Clifford, his doghouse, and Emily Elizabeth are all right at home in this backyard! As visitors make their way into the exhibit gallery, a giant Clifford welcomes them into the exhibit. Emily Elizabeth is seated on Clifford s paw, inviting visitors to sit next to her. Description A giant Clifford takes center stage in this backyard! Standing nine feet tall, Clifford greets visitors as they make their way into the exhibit. Because Clifford is always ready to play, visitors can slide down Clifford s tail, just like they see Emily Elizabeth do on the television show. And, as every dog owner knows, having a pet also brings responsibility. Visitors are encouraged to try their hand at keeping Clifford s dog bowl full by loading dog food into his bowl with a conveyor belt. Inside Clifford s doghouse, visitors create their own art and letters to mail to island residents or to take home. Clifford Slide Sliding down Clifford s tail is a big part of being friends with Clifford. Clifford s tail doubles as a small slide, inviting visitors to have fun just like they see the kids do on the television show. Visitors access the slide by climbing two short bone-shaped steps and slide down a red fiberglass slide. The top of the slide itself is 36 off the ground. 7

10 Bone Conveyor Belt and Clifford s Dog Bowl Visitors are encouraged to try to keep Clifford s dog bowl full by loading dog food into it with a conveyor belt. The bowl is constructed of carved foam with an elastimer spray and lined with a soft padding. The conveyor belt is boneshaped, and is constructed with real gears, belts, and a steel wheel. Clifford s Doghouse Stepping into Clifford s doghouse is like stepping into a world of arts and letters. A ready supply of paper, crayons, pencils, and scissors invites visitors to sit down at the picnic table and create a picture, an invitation, or a letter. Visitors can bring home their creations, display them on the side of the doghouse, or mail them to island residents at the Birdwell Island Post Office. 8

11 Emily Elizabeth s Backyard Theater Visitors enter the world of Clifford and his dog pals by stepping in front of an animated screen that displays images from Clifford The Big Red Dog television show. Visitors choose from a number of video clips presented at a kiosk, don their costumes, and step on stage to join in the fun. Seating is arranged in front of the stage for other visitors to participate as audience members. Description A backyard environment surrounds the theater, complete with scenic painted fences and trees. The theater itself includes real theater curtains, overhead lights, and a stage. The stage floor is printed with a durable Scotchprint surface, based on existing artwork. Clifford, Cleo, and T-Bone costumes hang on hooks to the left of the stage, and the scene kiosk is to the right of the stage for visitors to chose the backdrop. The benches for the audience are shaped like bones. 9

12 Howards Home The Howards Home is an important part of this backyard. Visitors can help out Emily Elizabeth s family by doing some hands-on yard care. The garage holds all sorts of lawn tools and watering cans all ready to spiff up the yard. The porch of the house has a flower box where visitors can plant or pick flowers and water them if necessary. Cleo s Backyard Cleo welcomes our youngest visitors to her backyard a small tot playland. Based on the items found in Cleo s yard, the exhibit components encourage large-muscle development and appropriate risk-taking. For young children, crawling through a tunnel involves not only muscles and coordination, but also the belief that a trusted adult will be on the other side to greet them (even though he or she is out of sight for a short time). Description A three-dimensional Cleo inhabits this backyard. There is a crawl-through tunnel that is made for kids but big enough for adults. Cleo s doghouse 10

13 serves as a shape-sorting activity. Soft wood shapes (triangle, circle, square, etc.) are inserted through the appropriate holes in the doghouse. A large tree serves as a landmark in this exhibit area. The tree is painted to look like Cleo s tree. The backyard is distinguished from other exhibit areas by its soft flooring and short sections of stone wall, which surround the backyard. The walls are made of carved foam and double as seating for adult visitors. Busy Wall Activities These three activities are imbedded into the wall around Cleo s Backyard. 1. Where s Clifford? Visitors turn a crank to make Clifford pop in and out of his doghouse. 2. Who s in here? T-Bone s doghouse (slight relief) is built into the wall and an image of T-Bone is looking over the roof. The door to the doghouse opens (with hinges) to reveal a mirror so that visitors can see themselves. 3. Where can you find me? Visitors turn two tumblers filled with sound-makers (bells and dried beans). Visitors try to match the face with the place they are found in the exhibit. Each tumbler includes three images: Emily Elizabeth, Charley, and Mary on one; and Clifford s doghouse, Samuel s Fish and Chips Shack, and the Backyard Theater on the other. 11

14 Birdwell Island Post Office Mr. Carson welcomes visitors to the post office, where creating mail for residents on Birdwell Island is only half the fun actually mailing letters and pictures is the other half! The Birdwell Island mailbox (modified to allow the mail to slide out of the bottom) is stationed outside the post office, ready to collect all of our visitors creations. In order to prompt visitors to distribute letters to individual mailboxes around the other sites in the exhibit, several letters will be pre-addressed to island residents. Visitors will also be able to deliver their own letters and pictures to these mailboxes. Description This three-dimensional building comes complete with a mailbox outside the post office (for mailing and distributing letters) and mail slots inside the post office (for sorting mail for all the residents). 12

15 Birdwell Island Library and the Norman Bridwell Art Retrospective This library includes a cozy book nook with a bone-shaped bench and bookshelves filled with Clifford stories. For the youngest visitors, the library offers opportunities to become acquainted with books and Clifford stories while older children and adults share their love of reading. Visitors to the library can also play an interactive Clifford CD-ROM game and view video clips of an interview with Norman Bridwell talking about his work. The library also houses the Norman Bridwell Art Retrospective. As visitors browse through the art gallery, they gain an inside look at the character and story development of Clifford The Big Red Dog and Mr. Bridwell s creative process over the past 40 years. Description The facade of the library mirrors the library ship facade on the television show. The interior includes two computer stations, a seat shaped like a dog bowl resting on the floor, a bone-shaped bench and a small bookshelf. The dog bowl seating can comfortably accommodate one adult and one child, or several small children. 13

16 DESIGN FRAMEWORK The design draws specifically from existing art that has been created for Clifford The Big Red Dog television show, and incorporates as much diversity of textures and materials as possible. The exhibit s 11 themed areas are: Exhibit Entry Birdwell Island Ferry Samuel s Fish and Chips Shack Musical Marina T-Bone s Beach Fun Clifford and His Doghouse Emily Elizabeth s Backyard Theater Howards Home Cleo s Backyard Birdwell Island Post Office Birdwell Island Library and the Norman Bridwell Art Retrospective All of the exhibit sites are environments based on locations found on the PBS Kids Clifford The Big Red Dog television series and should be recognizable to visitors familiar with the television show. 14

17 AUDIENCE Clifford is targeted to children ages two to eight years old and their caregivers including school groups. The activities throughout the exhibit maintain enough flexibility to accommodate both individual and group interactions. Activities are designed to offer safe and inviting experiences for the youngest visitors while offering challenges for older children. Adult caregivers are addressed specifically through text and graphics, which highlight the exhibit s educational messages and Clifford s Big Ideas. 15

18 GOALS & MESSAGES The goal of this exhibit is to provide museum visitors with a greater understanding of the social and emotional challenges children face every day. This goal will be met through the following objectives: Create immersive exhibit environments where visitors become part of Clifford s world. Provide opportunities for museum visitors to practice developmentally-appropriate challenges through playful exhibit interactives. Foster pro-social skills and feelings of success by creating open-ended and self-correcting activities throughout the exhibit. Promote adult/child dialogue about Clifford s Big Ideas 10 simple, tangible, life lessons designed to help young children navigate their world. Clifford s Big Ideas include: Share Play Fair Have Respect Work Together Be Responsible Be Truthful Be Kind Believe in Yourself Be a Good Friend Help Others 16

19 CAST OF CHARACTERS The following characters are found throughout the exhibit, visually greeting visitors as they enter various sites in the exhibit. Victor and Pedro greet visitors on the Birdwell Island Ferry. Samuel and Charley invite visitors into Samuel s Fish and Chips Shack on the pier. Mary encourages visitors to try their hand at making music at Musical Marina. Clifford, Emily Elizabeth, Charley, Jetta, Cleo, T-Bone, and Mac all share the stage with visitors in the theater. Emily Elizabeth welcomes visitors to Clifford s Doghouse. Mr. and Mrs. Howard greet visitors as they wander into the backyard. Cleo plays with visitors in Cleo s Backyard. Mr. Carson invites visitors to help him sort the mail at the Birdwell Island Post Office. Jetta and Ms. Lee greet visitors in the Birdwell Island Library and Norman Bridwell Art Retrospective. 17