West Virginia Youth Museum Exhibit Brings Stories to Life

February 19, 2023

News Release | AP

Children's Connections

BECKLEY, WV - Children will have the opportunity to bring two-dimensional characters to life as part of an exhibit called Animationland at the Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia.

Developed and produced by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, the exhibit focuses on the basics of the animation process using interactive features including a sketching studio, a sound effects booth and the opportunity to plan and star in a stop-motion production.

Beckley Parks and Recreation Director Leslie Baker said the new Animationland exhibit is not only immersive but incorporates science, technology, engineering, art and math, or STEAM, which is one of the core purposes of children’s museums.

“It offers exactly what we want it to,” Baker said. “It offers science and technology because animation relies heavily on technology now. There’s also the engineering of the technical aspects of it, like an animation machine. And then also art – because you can’t have animation unless there’s the basic drawings. There’s also a lot of math involved as well. So it fits perfectly within our criteria and so we’re very pleased to have it.”

The exhibit includes several stations that lead children through each step of the animation process starting with the creation of a storyboard.

In this station, children are asked to arrange a set of storyboard cards containing pre-drawn sketches into any order of their choosing. Once the sketches are arranged, the children will press play, and an animation will play on a screen which will reflect the order of the storyboard cards. Children can then alter the story by moving the cards around.

Next up is a station where children can design their own character and create their own storyboards, which they can then put on display in the museum.

Animationland also includes a Foley studio for sounds recording and mixing, where visitors use a variety of noise-making tools to add sound effects to an original animation.

“Animationland is a vibrant, whimsical place where kids and adults can get lost in the creative process, even if they’ve never thought of themselves as artists,” Baker said. “The exhibit provides visitors with the opportunity to experiment with animation, then walk away with the knowledge and skills to do it at home. It’s a DIY experience.”

Other stations contained in the Animationland exhibit include “Make Stop-Motion Magic” where visitors can create their own stop-motion animation using a variety of props.

Baker said she thinks the “Plan and Pose” station will be one of the favorites for children. In this station, participants get the chance to star in their own stop-motion animation while moving around a stage-like area and creating different poses.

“The cool thing about children’s museums is (kids) don’t always realize that they’re learning something because they’re having fun and getting to do something,” Baker said.

The Youth Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Beginning April 1, the Youth Museum will expand its hours and be open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission to the Youth Museum is $5.

Animationland is on view through mid-September at the Youth Museum in Beckley and on loan from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, one of the nation’s leading science museums.

For more information about the exhibit as well as an education guide for teachers, visit beckley.org/youth-museum.

The Youth Museum is in the New River Park adjacent to the Exhibition Coal Mine. Many of the exhibits and classes are funded in part by the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.