Art comes to life at children’s museum

Children may step inside the framework of famous paintings and experience art like never before when “Framed: Step into Art” opens at the Creative Discovery Museum, 321 Chestnut St., on Saturday, Sept. 21.

The new exhibit allows children and their caregivers to enjoy a robust noon meal in Grant Wood’s “Dinner for Threshers,” climb into a tent and explore camping gear in John Singer Sargent’s “Camp at Lake O’Hara” and add “cornhusks” to the flower tower in Diego Rivera’s “Corn Festival.”

Visitors can explore a small collection of “Mona Lisa” prints featuring the original along with famous parodies, then step behind a cutout version and replace Mona Lisa’s face with their own.

“Art provides children with tools to interact with the world around them,” said Henry Schulson, CDM executive director. “’Framed: Step Into Art’ makes fine art accessible to children and their caregivers in a fun, playful way. We are excited to see how this exhibit inspires creativity in our visitors.”

“Dinner for Threshers:” Enter Grant Wood’s painting and learn about rural life at the turn of the century. Visitors can tend to a chicken and eggs, prepare a meal in the kitchen, set the dining table, enjoy a noontime dinner and mix-and-match the farmers’ patterned shirts.

“Camp at Lake O’Hara:” Travel to the Canadian Rockies in 1916 at John Singer Sargent’s camp. Children can climb inside a tent and explore camping gear like Sargent would have used, cook a pretend meal over the campfire and tell stories around the fire.

“Big Chicken:” Step inside Clementine Hunter’s work and create imaginary animals by mixing body parts. Children and adults can load the cart with cotton, climb behind the reins of the giant rooster and take their load to

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town.

“Corn Festival:” Travel south of the border through this piece from the Court of Fiestas in the Ministry of Education Building in Mexico City.

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Visitors can explore a rendition of one of Diego Rivera’s frescoes, add flowers and ribbons of cornhusks to the flower tower for a celebration and include their flourish in a mural on a miniature building.

CDM will host “Framed” through Jan. 5, 2020. The exhibit was created by Minnesota Children’s Museum.

CREATIVE DISCOVERY MUSEUM CONTRIBUTED PHOTO At the “Big Chicken” artwork, children can load the cart, take the rooster’s reins and take their load to town.