Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit
Very Eric Carle is a play-and-learn exhibit featuring activities inspired by five of Eric Carle’s classic books. Visitors can follow the path of the Very Hungry Caterpillar, weave a web with the Very Busy Spider, find their inner light with the Very Lonely Firefly, jump and flip with the Very Clumsy Click Beetle, and compose a night symphony with the Very Quiet Cricket.
Co-organized by the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, Massachusetts
Upcoming Schedule
Summer 2025
Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia, Beckley, WV
Fall 2025
Kansas Children’s Discovery Center, Topeka, KS
Summer 2026
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Photo © Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh.
Gallery Views
Photo © Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.
Very Hungry Caterpillar Journey: Be the caterpillar as you follow his path, eating foods on your journey toward becoming a butterfly. When you have reached the end, you are now ready to spread your wings and experience the beauty of the world around you.
Very Hungry Caterpillar Journey: Be the caterpillar as you follow his path, eating foods on your journey toward becoming a butterfly. When you have reached the end, you are now ready to spread your wings and experience the beauty of the world around you.
Photo © Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.
Very Hungry Caterpillar Butterfly Shadow Theater: Create your very own beautiful butterfly using light and color through shadow play. Manipulate pieces of translucent materials to transform the butterfly wings with beautiful colors and shapes.
Very Hungry Caterpillar Butterfly Shadow Theater: Create your very own beautiful butterfly using light and color through shadow play. Manipulate pieces of translucent materials to transform the butterfly wings with beautiful colors and shapes.
Photo © Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.
Very Clumsy Click Beetle Playscape: Test your balance as you rummage across a pile of pebbles, crawl through tall blades of grass, step from stepping stone to stepping stone and walk across the stem of a poppy flower in this unique and playful landscape. You can challenge yourself to master new skills, and persevere like the Very Clumsy Click Beetle.
Very Clumsy Click Beetle Playscape: Test your balance as you rummage across a pile of pebbles, crawl through tall blades of grass, step from stepping stone to stepping stone and walk across the stem of a poppy flower in this unique and playful landscape. You can challenge yourself to master new skills, and persevere like the Very Clumsy Click Beetle.
Photo © Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.
Very Clumsy Click Beetle Piano: Practice makes perfect when you try to make the click beetle flip on the wooden keys and land right side up. Listen for the clicking sound as you watch the hand-made beetle flip and fly across the undulating instrument.
Very Clumsy Click Beetle Piano: Practice makes perfect when you try to make the click beetle flip on the wooden keys and land right side up. Listen for the clicking sound as you watch the hand-made beetle flip and fly across the undulating instrument.
Photo © Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.
Very Busy Spider Weaving Wall: Spin your own web on a large weaving wall. Make your web as big or as small as you would like, experimenting with a variety of stringy materials. Don’t let anything distract you as you work to finish your web masterpiece—maybe you’ll even catch a fly.
Very Busy Spider Weaving Wall: Spin your own web on a large weaving wall. Make your web as big or as small as you would like, experimenting with a variety of stringy materials. Don’t let anything distract you as you work to finish your web masterpiece—maybe you’ll even catch a fly.
Photo © Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.
Very Busy Spider Walking Web: Work as hard as the Very Busy Spider when you step through this giant, web-like structure. This activity will test your dexterity, strength and flexibility as you move across the challenging surface. When you have reached a comfortable spot, you can rest, watch others, and feel proud of what you just accomplished.
Very Busy Spider Walking Web: Work as hard as the Very Busy Spider when you step through this giant, web-like structure. This activity will test your dexterity, strength and flexibility as you move across the challenging surface. When you have reached a comfortable spot, you can rest, watch others, and feel proud of what you just accomplished.
Photo © Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.
Very Lonely Firefly Find Your Light Interactive Video: Everyone wants to find a friend, just like the Very Lonely Firefly. Move your hands and body to lure a firefly toward your light. Work with others to attract multiple fireflies and try to form a group of the beautiful lit insects.
Very Lonely Firefly Find Your Light Interactive Video: Everyone wants to find a friend, just like the Very Lonely Firefly. Move your hands and body to lure a firefly toward your light. Work with others to attract multiple fireflies and try to form a group of the beautiful lit insects.
Photo © Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.
Photo Op: Capture your very own Very Eric Carle memory at the Very You photo op wall. Choose a card printed with a ‘Very’ character or put on a pair of butterfly wings to strike a pose for the camera. With Eric Carle’s beautiful blue paper as a backdrop, use your own camera or phones, or plan a formal program around this interactive experience.
Photo Op: Capture your very own Very Eric Carle memory at the Very You photo op wall. Choose a card printed with a ‘Very’ character or put on a pair of butterfly wings to strike a pose for the camera. With Eric Carle’s beautiful blue paper as a backdrop, use your own camera or phones, or plan a formal program around this interactive experience.
Photo © Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.
Very Quiet Crick Night Symphony: Touch the Very Quiet Cricket and his friends in this interactive relief mural to trigger a sound and create a one of a kind musical composition. The various insect sounds harmonize together to make a unique symphony comprised of rhythms and sounds found in nature.
Very Quiet Crick Night Symphony: Touch the Very Quiet Cricket and his friends in this interactive relief mural to trigger a sound and create a one of a kind musical composition. The various insect sounds harmonize together to make a unique symphony comprised of rhythms and sounds found in nature.
Photo © Children's Museum Pittsburgh.
3D Character Puzzles: Bring the characters off the page and build them in three dimensions. Assemble the parts of each of the five title characters to create large scale versions of the insects or create a new, mixed-up insect from your imagination.
3D Character Puzzles: Bring the characters off the page and build them in three dimensions. Assemble the parts of each of the five title characters to create large scale versions of the insects or create a new, mixed-up insect from your imagination.
Photo © Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.
The Studio is a flexible work space that provides room for collaborative art projects, as well as individual collage making. Be inspired by Eric Carle and his imaginative vision of the natural world. Through hands-on exploration of materials and techniques, the Studio connects visitors to the artist and his playful approach of creating illustrated book art. A display of his original hand-painted papers gives visitors an up close view of his process.
The Studio is a flexible work space that provides room for collaborative art projects, as well as individual collage making. Be inspired by Eric Carle and his imaginative vision of the natural world. Through hands-on exploration of materials and techniques, the Studio connects visitors to the artist and his playful approach of creating illustrated book art. A display of his original hand-painted papers gives visitors an up close view of his process.
Photo © Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.
Explore visual literacy and reading through words, pictures and video. Listen to Eric Carle read his stories and talk about his process, or read your own favorite Eric Carle story to a friend.
Explore visual literacy and reading through words, pictures and video. Listen to Eric Carle read his stories and talk about his process, or read your own favorite Eric Carle story to a friend.
Photo © Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.
The Gallery consists of 24 giclees that depict images from The Very Series, and the artistic evolution of those characters.
The Gallery consists of 24 giclees that depict images from The Very Series, and the artistic evolution of those characters.
