Arts/Culture
All the Cinderellas
For our last little peek behind the pages of the fairy tales in our current exhibit, Once Upon a Time, we’d like to celebrate one of the best-known of them: Cinderella! The beauty with the special slipper has a very, very long lineage. Stories about her, or women very much like her, have been traced…
Read MoreMore Fairy Tales: Andersen and de Beaumont
Most of the fairy tales which Americans grew up reading are of European vintage, and a healthy majority of them were compiled by the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen, who popularized such classics as “The Little Mermaid,” “The Snow Queen,” “The Ugly Duckling,” “The Princess and the Pea,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” and “The Steadfast…
Read MoreThe Many Tales of Anansi
Children always surprise me when they play, and when they’re in our Once Upon a Time exhibit, they are always finding new things to do that I didn’t see coming. This past Saturday, my son, who is four, spent the better part of ten minutes hiding behind the big pretend “melon,” hollering “Hey, I’m a…
Read MoreFirst Lady of Atlanta Helps Kick Off Mayor’s Summer Reading Club
It’s summer, and one of the great things about summer in Atlanta is the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club. We’re happy to once again be a partner, and a host for their kickoff event. The fun starts at 10am this Saturday morning, and we’ll have readings and crafts all day long! Plus, a special reading by…
Read MoreFairy Tales Thrive in the Telling
Ask a dozen academics why fairy tales have such staying power and resonance and you’re sure to get a dozen different answers. Folk tales go back centuries, and the details shift and change in the telling. As books became available, and later, films were made to adapt the stories, they took on new details, additional…
Read MoreMeet the Holidays: Purim
One of our favorite Museum programs is “Meet the Holidays,” in which we learn about and celebrate the traditions of cultures all around the world. “We live in a global community and Atlanta is an extremely multi-cultural city,” explains Pam Duncan, manager of public programming. “Meet the Holidays allows our youngest visitors to learn about…
Read MoreHappy Year of the Goat! …or possibly the Sheep!
The Spring Festival, Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year, is celebrated on the first day of the first month in the Chinese calendar. That’s the day of the second new moon after the Winter Solstice, ending fifteen days later. This year, Chinese New Year begins on Feb. 18 and ends on March 5. Annually,…
Read MoreThe Wonderful World of the Wizard of Oz
“I’m melting! I’m melting!” “We’re not in Kansas anymore.” “Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!” “I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!” And of course, “There’s no place like home.” These quotes have become a part of American culture over the past 75 years since the world was introduced to the…
Read More2014 Gift Guide: S.T.E.A.M Gifts
Staff Picks: Children's Books
The cold weather is coming! Actually, this being Georgia, the cold weather already came, went away for a bit, rained some, got hot, got cold, and warmed up, but we’re pretty sure that it’s back. Anyway, we were looking ahead to some chilly evenings curled up on the couch under a big comfy blanket reading…
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