The Boxcar Children Exhibit

The Boxcar Children is an exhibit designed around the popular and beloved Boxcar Children book series, written by Gertrude Chandler Warner and originally published by Rand McNally in 1924. The Children’s Museum of the Upstate in Greenville has created this wonderful exhibit as a way to celebrate the books’ 75th anniversary in 2017, in conjunction with a new animated feature film release. The exhibit will open on October 14, 2017. SC Humanities supported this project with a Major Grant.

The Boxcar Children book series tells the story of four orphaned children in the late 1920s who create a home for themselves in an abandoned boxcar in the forest. The children eventually meet their wealthy grandfather and decide to live with him, as the book series continues to highlight their many adventures. The exhibit simulates many settings found in the first book of the series. As children play in the exhibit, they will also explore the familiar themes of literacy, family values, resourcefulness, and empathy that The Boxcar Children books are so well-known for.

As visitors enter the exhibit, they will be immersed into the world of The Boxcar Children, with text panels and audio enhancements that offer a linear walk-through experience, as well as many opportunities for imaginative, non-linear play. The highly interactive, three-dimensional exhibit features 1500 square feet of space highlighting many of the book’s familiar scenes in areas where children can learn and play.

Several special events are planned for while the exhibit is on display, including Story Time programs, workshops, and an after-school book club.

More information about The Boxcar Children exhibit can be found at The Children’s Museum of the Upstate’s website: http://www.tcmupstate.org/.

The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer 21-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually.