The Eric Carle Museum

A few weeks ago, we visited the Eric Carle Museum with my little one's class. The building is spacious and modern, with Scandinavian design and wide spaces.

The wonderful bursts of color left us inspired and ready to roll our sleeves up at home.


We spent time in the art room, where the children were invited to think about art and make their own creations, and we visited the galleries with one dedicated to Eric Carle's work, and two other illustrators.



In the grand entry we admired these large paintings. I'm hoping to get a large canvas and make a collaborative painting with my girl.

In the art classroom, we were mesmerized by this simple, yet wonderful light catcher, consisting of colored water in zip lock bags , hanging in a circle and held by nylon. (Ready, set, GO! Just run and do it!)

Each child received a lovely "I am an Artist" booklet. They then picked at random an adjective and a noun to draw on each page. Here is a happy flower, with rain.

With the large windows, simplicity, space and inviting work tables and corners, the space came close to the classroom of my dreams. Sigh.

I love the way the artwork was displayed in a rainbow of colors, simply placed in filing sleeves and held together with metal rings.

To top it off, even the highchairs in the dining room were beautiful!

 

So, if you happen to visit Western Massachusetts, head on over to the Eric Carle Museum. If not, I hope you are inspired by the bright colors and ideas collected during our visit. 

Here are some of our favorite Eric Carle books. Please, do share yours.