NAPLES, Florida (May 2, 2023) – The Pigeon Comes to Naples! A Mo Willems Exhibit makes its debut on May 27, 2023 at the Children’s Museum of Naples (CMON). Co-organized by Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, the exhibit is inspired by the art and characters of the beloved children’s book author and illustrator, Mo Willems.
Many familiar characters will be featured, including best friend duo Elephant and Piggie, faithful companion Knuffle Bunny, and The Pigeon, the wily city bird best known for his antics in Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Activities will give visitors the opportunity to make art that is inspired by Mo Willems and to learn about the rich social and emotional lives of the author’s characters. The exhibit will also feature prints of illustrations, including sketches and other preliminary materials, by Mo Willems.
- 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 around 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 art techniques that Mo uses for his own books.
Locally sponsored by the Tourism Development Council of Collier County and Florida Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, The Pigeon Comes to Naples! A Mo Willems Exhibit will be on display at the Children’s Museum of Naples through September 3, 2023.
The Children’s Museum of Naples is open Thursday through Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is $20, $15 for local residents; free for members. For more information, please call 239-514-0084 or visit the museum website: cmon.org.
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About the Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples (CMON)
The Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples is a brain-building powerhouse and Southwest Florida’s first museum devoted for children and families to learn through play. With hands-on exhibit galleries, the accessible museum invites visitors of all ages to journey through the swamps of the Everglades, weave through a maze, climb a two-story banyan tree, or experiment with the water play station. Children can become a weather forecaster, a farmer, a chef, a fisherman, an artist, an architect or a veterinarian; explore the cold of an igloo, the whoosh of the wind, the sound of the sea, and the effects of gravity. Throughout the day special activities encourage our guests to get involved, try something new and be energized. CMON offers a variety of interactive exhibits providing kids with education, play, learning, science, technology, engineering, inventions, space exploration, art, math, storybooks, creation, building, sensory, and child development.
About Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is a place that delights and inspires children, where they can take off on fantastic flights of imagination daily, and return to earth to hammer a nail and ink a silkscreen. With 80,000 square feet of space, the Museum welcomes more than 302,500 visitors annually and provides tons of fun and loads of “real stuff” experiences for play and learning. Permanent hands-on, interactive exhibit areas at the Museum include The Studio, Theater, Waterplay, Attic, Nursery, Backyard and MAKESHOP®. The Museum’s award-winning, three-story, center building is screened by a shimmering wind Sculpture and connects two historic structures (Allegheny Post Office Building & the Buhl Building). In 2006, the Museum became a certified green building and was honored by the American Institute for Architects and the National Historic Preservation Trust. In 2015 the Museum was named as one of the nation’s fifteen top children’s museums by Parents magazine and in 2017 was Voted One of the Nation’s Ten Best Museums for Families in USA Today 10Best Reader’s Choice Contest for Best Museum for Families in America.
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
The mission of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, a non-profit organization in Amherst, MA, is to inspire a love of art and reading through picture books. A leading advocate in its field, The Carle collects, preserves, presents, and celebrates picture books and picture book illustrations from around the world. In addition to underscoring the cultural, historical, and artistic significance of picture books and their art form, The Carle offers educational programs that provide a foundation for arts integration and literacy.
Eric and Barbara Carle founded the Museum in November 2002. Eric Carle is the renowned author and illustrator of more than 70 books, including his classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The Carle houses more than 11,000 objects, including 7,300 permanent collection illustrations, three art galleries, an art studio, a theater, picture book and scholarly libraries, and educational programs for families, scholars, educators, and schoolchildren. Educational offerings include professional training for educators around the country and four onsite graduate programs in Children’s Literature in collaboration with Simmons College. For further information, visit the Museum’s website at www.carlemuseum.org.
About Mo Willems
The New York Times best-selling author and illustrator began his career as a writer and animator for PBS’s Sesame Street, where he garnered six Emmy Awards for his writing. During his nine seasons at Sesame Street, Willems also served as a weekly commentator for BBC Radio and created two animated series, Nickelodeon’s The Off-Beats and Cartoon Network’s Sheep in the Big City. While serving as head writer for Cartoon Network’s number one-rated show, Codename: Kids Next Door, Willems began writing and drawing books for children. His debut effort, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! became a New York Times best-seller and was awarded a Caldecott Honor in 2004. The following year Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale was awarded a Caldecott Honor. The sequel, Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity earned Willems his third Caldecott Honor in 2008. In addition to picture books, Willems created the Elephant and Piggie books, a series of beginning readers, which were awarded the Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal in 2008 and 2009 and Geisel Honors in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. Willems’ drawings and sculptures have been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums across the nation, and his graphic story about his family experiences during 9-11 for DC Comics resides in the Library of Congress’s permanent collection. Willems has written the script and lyrics for three musicals, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, Elephant & Piggie’s We Are in a Play! (both commissioned by the Kennedy Center) and Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience (commissioned by The Seattle Children’s Theater). His monumental sculpture, The Red Elephant, can be viewed in the courtyard of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Willems lives in Massachusetts with his family.
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Media Contact: Laura Bright
Chief Advancement Officer
Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples
239-260-1604 | lrbright@cmon.org
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For more information about Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples, or to make a contribution, visit www.cmon.org or call 239-260-1604.
Contact: Laura Bright
Chief Advancement Officer
Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples
239-260-1604 | lrbright@cmon.org
