Storyland: A Trip Through Childhood Favorites Summative Evaluation Report of Findings, March 2012

Storyland: A Trip Through Childhood Favorites (Storyland) brings seven beloved picture books to life in a 1,500 square foot exhibition at the Minnesota Children’s Museum (MCM) from September 2011 through early February 2012. Designed and developed by MCM through an IMLS grant, Storyland is aimed at children newborn through 8 years old and the adults in their lives. The books featured in the exhibit include: The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Potter), If You Give A Mouse A Cookie (Numeroff), Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Martin and Archambault), The Snowy Day (Keats), Tuesday (Wiesner), and Where’s Spot? (Hill). The summative evaluation, conducted by Blue Scarf Consulting, LLC (BSC), a Minnetonka, MN based evaluation service, centered on answering the following questions: • How and to what extent does Storyland promote, expand, and/or support children’s perceptions of reading? • How and to what extent does Storyland promote and support children’s desire to read? • How and to what extent does Storyland change adults’ perception of the critical role they play in children’s early literacy? • To what extent do adults receive and intend to pursue the suggested literacy building practices presented in Storyland? This report includes observation protocols and a survey.