Press Release: Oz Touches Down at Long Island Children's Museum

Follow the yellow brick road and step into the pages of a new 1,500-square- foot interactive exhibition opening at the Long Island Children’s Museum on January 29, 2010 featuring the book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” with the artwork of W.W. Denslow. Visitors will feel like they’re walking through a storybook as they learn about science, art and history against the backdrop of the first American fairy tale. The exhibit’s stay at LICM represents the first stop for the Oz exhibit on its national tour.

It all started with a book … in 1900, the publication of L. Frank Baum’s book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” caused a national sensation that lead to13 sequels over the next 20 years. This timeless tale has been brought to life in many forms and now a new colorful traveling exhibition offers a larger than life pop-up book that will dazzle the eyes and stimulate the mind, while instilling a love of reading and storytelling in Museum visitors.

“Frank Baum’s stories have enchanted generations of children and ignited in them the joy of reading as they took wondrous journeys through the Land of Oz,” says LICM Executive Director Suzanne LeBlanc. The exhibit’s 14-week run (January 29-May 2, 2010) was chosen to correspond to high visitation periods at the Museum. “The appeal of this exhibit is wide-reaching, which is a perfect fit for the Museum’s multi-generational audience,” she added.

LICM visitors will begin their adventure on a Kansas farm featuring Dorothy’s house. Using dress-up and role-play children will discover life on a farm in 1900 while interacting with learning activities such as collecting and counting eggs; tending and harvesting the corn; and assembling a puzzle of farm animals and their sounds. Peek around the next corner and you’ll be pulled into an encounter with tornados where the science of a vortex comes alive. Gain exciting knowledge of the force of a storm as it surges from F1 to F5. Spin a top in Tornado Alley and see a storm’s destructive force as it powers through the farm.

Blow through to the Land of Munchkins with its message of tolerance for all people. Play dress up with Munchkin clothes in a Munchkin house. Hand puppets in the Land of Oz Puppet Theater help children embrace differences among people as they meet those who live in this fantastic land -- Winkies, China People, Armless Hammerheads and more. Be kind in the next passage as you meet the Tin Woodman and learn about your heart with beating, beeping and flashing machines. “Feel the Beat” and “What’s Your Pulse” gives children a chance to feel for themselves how activity affects your heart rate. Then help pump blood through the heart and see what happens to the color of blood when it has oxygen.

Drop by and help put the scarecrow together and let him know that everybody is smart in his or her own way. Prove it to him when you help him solve the brainteaser games and puzzles. “Pick Your Brain” gives visitors a chance to touch the brain of different animals found in the Land of Oz and figure out which brain corresponds with which animal. Venture into the forest and the Lion will help you find your courage as you crawl through a dark cave. Do your best to spot all the hidden animals along your trek through the cave camouflage. Team up with other hands and help solve the task of building the “road of yellow brick” to Emerald City where the stage awaits the next entertainer. Don’t forget to put on the special Oz spectacles that let you see the city in its entire green splendor. Test your acting skills for Oz and your grownups, using all the props and costumes as you perform acts from scenes in the book.

Moving through the story, brace yourself for The Wicked Witch of the West. Help finish building her castle and see what it’s like to be a winged monkey. Rescue yourself as you fling the winged monkeys into the castle you built. Seek refuge with Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, in her cozy reading nook. Catch your breath, relax, and then dream away as you finish the time-honored story of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”

The integrated learning in the exhibit incorporates storytelling with art, science, math and history stimulating learning through creativity, play, and exploration. The character building exhibit asks children and their accompanying adults to ponder and discuss questions. In addition, there is a full complement of educational programs that celebrate the integrated learning across the curriculum both for the public and schools.

Long Island Children’s Museum has planned a variety of themed activities and workshops to complement the key concepts introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz exhibit. Ozapallooza offers visitors a sneak peek at this exciting new exhibit with an evening of themed character activities on Thursday, January 28 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Teamwork is the focus of a week-long (Feb. 15-19) collaborative sculpture project as visitors help build the Emerald City. Sculptor Meryl Taradash will lead a workshop on Feb. 13 in which children will create moving sculptures inspired by Baum’s Tin Woodsman. (View the LICM events calendar at www.licm.org for additional Oz programs.)

Dorothy may have been confused about where she was when she touched down after the tornado, but guests to LICM will have no doubt that they have arrived in the Land of Oz. “Oz-ian” touches are visible throughout the Museum – from the 10-foot high witches’ legs that protrude from underneath the building, to the yellow brick road that guides visitors throughout the lobby, to the characters caught up in a cyclone-effect across the entry ceiling.

The exhibition was produced and developed by Great Explorations Children’s Museum of St. Petersburg, Florida; designed and fabricated by Bruce Barry’s Wacky World Studios of Oldsmar, Florida; with a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The exhibition has been endorsed by The International Wizard of Oz Club and The L. Frank Baum Family Trust produced with assistance from scholars, collectors and enthusiasts who advised on its development.
We invite you to explore this creative presentation of an iconic story on loan to Long Island Children’s Museum.

All activities will be held at the Long Island Children’s Museum, 11 Davis Avenue, Garden City, NY. Children must be accompanied by an adult. General Museum admission: $10 for adults and children over 1 year old. Under 1 year old FREE. $9 seniors. Additional fees for theater and special programs may apply. For additional information, contact 516-224-5800.

Museum Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 10am-5pm and most school holidays.