The Discovery Center at Murfree Spring will open Storyland: A Trip Through Childhood Favorites™ on Tuesday, January 27. The traveling exhibit, created by Minnesota Children’s Museum, invites guests to step inside classic picture books through interactive, literacy-focused environments. Running through Sunday, May 3rd, the exhibit is included with general admission and free for museum members.

The exhibit features seven well-known picture books re-created as interactive story environments. Each book-themed area incorporates activities that promote early literacy concepts such as vocabulary building, narrative sequencing, letter recognition and sound exploration.

All about the stories

In The Tale of Peter Rabbit, children can step into Peter’s garden, search for hidden objects and experience scenes that encourage storytelling and descriptive language. The Snowy Day introduces visitors to a wintry urban landscape where they can make tracks, build a snowperson and experiment with words inspired by the story’s sensory themes.

A dedicated Where’s Spot? space provides babies and toddlers with tactile wall panels and interactive elements that demonstrate how literacy skills begin forming in infancy. The Chicka Chicka Boom Boom area features bold colors, musical components, and letter-based activities, including opportunities to send alphabet pieces up a coconut tree or “paint” letters with water.

Additional environments based on Abuela by Arthur Dorros and Tuesday by David Wiesner offer settings for dramatic play and opportunities for children to create narratives of their own, further reinforcing the exhibit’s literacy-centered design.

“Early literacy is one of the strongest predictors of long-term academic success, and Storyland gives families a hands-on way to support that development,” says Tara MacDougall, President and CEO of the Discovery Center. “Bringing this exhibit to the Discovery Center strengthens our commitment to providing experiences that spark curiosity, foster language growth, and help children build the foundational skills they need to thrive.”

The Discovery Center is located at 502 SE Broad Street in Murfreesboro, TN. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. For tickets or more information, visit explorethedc.org.