Clifford The Big Red Dog to visit museum

But not if it happens to be Clifford The Big Red Dog, who arrives in town Saturday to star in his own interactive exhibit at the Lied Discovery Children’s Museum.

The exhibit, created by the Minnesota Children’s Museum and Scholastic Entertainment Inc., opens Saturday and runs through May 25. There, in a collection of hands-on attractions, children can paint, make music, draw, act onstage and read stories about the character who first appeared in a series of children’s books in 1963.

In those stories, written by Norman Bridwell, Clifford was the runt of his litter until a city child named Emily Elizabeth Howard adopted him. As the stories go, Emily Elizabeth’s love for Clifford made the dog grow so tall that the family had to move to Birdwell Island.

In addition to the popular book series, Clifford, as voiced by John Ritter, starred in two PBS series and in several videos. Tifferney White, the Lied Discovery Children’s Museum’s director of programs and education, suspects that the popularity of both the books and the TV series will help to make Clifford a hit here.

“Clifford is big with young children,” White says, adding that the exhibit meshes well with both the museum’s educational mission and its target audience of children up to 12 years of age.

While the attractions will be “very exciting for kids,” White says, they also will help to encourage literacy and creativity and convey the series’ 10 “big ideas,” which include such qualities as being honest, sharing, playing fair, working together and believing in oneself.

The visual centerpiece of the exhibit is a nine-foot-tall figure of Clifford and Emily Elizabeth. Children can pose for photos on the dog’s paws or can slide down his tail, just as Emily Elizabeth does on the show.

And, after entering the exhibit via the Birdwell Island Ferry, children can cook and serve food at Samuel’s Fish and Chips Shack, play musical instruments at the Musical Marina, make sand castles at T-Bones Beach Fun, keep Clifford’s oversized dog bowl filled by using a giant conveyor, or write letters that they can take home or mail to other Birdwell island residents from the books.

Also featured are a display of author Bridwell’s work and a collection of Clifford books parents and children may read together.

The exhibit is designed for children 2 to 8 years old.

“It’s something that’s easy to promote because, if you talk to our target audience, they know exactly what you’re talking about,” White says. “You’re, like, ‘Clifford’ and everybody’s eyes light up.”

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280.