Kid-friendly exhibits at the Reading Public Museum are attracting children and their families from Berks County and beyond, the facility’s new director said.
Geoffrey K. Fleming was appointed executive director and CEO of the museum, effective March 4. He recently updated City Council on the museum’s progress since he took the helm.
All four of the current exhibits at the museum, 500 Museum Road, are appropriate for people of all ages, he said. But two, “The Lost World of Dragons” and “The Amazing Castle,” are particularly good for families with children. Both offer hands-on, interactive activities for kids.
“Come see the dragons,” Fleming said, adding humorously, “and when you look at them, remember that 14 of us had to lift them up into the air to get them up on those stands.”
The exhibit features an interactive experience that immerses visitors in the stories and mythology of dragons, exploring the lore and history of the legendary creatures in regions and cultures from Norway to ancient China, according to the museum’s website.
A companion exhibit, “Scales of Gold, Wings of Jade: The Dragon in Art,” explores the dragon theme in western and eastern art, drawn from the museum’s rich permanent collection, Fleming said.
“The (museum’s) collection is that good,” he said. “When somebody gives us a show, or we rent a show, we can actually create a beautiful (companion) art exhibition out of the (museum’s) contents, just by putting a keyword into our database and going: ‘Oh yeah, we got 80 pieces. Let's pick some stuff and put a great display together for the people to see.'”
The castle exhibit features a fanciful, medieval village filled with problem-solving, storytelling and imaginative play opportunities. Children can pretend to plant and harvest vegetables, build a chair in the carpenters' workshop, use a metal patch to fix a hole in the blacksmith workshop and dress in costumes to role-play as lords, ladies and villagers, the website says.
Before speaking to council, Fleming said, he reviewed the museum’s attendance statistics.
The majority of the visitors, 68%, are from Berks County, he said. Another 13% are from Pennsylvania cities northeast of Reading, including, Allentown and Scranton, while 10% visit from Philadelphia and other southeast communities. Another 10% come from western and midwestern parts of the state, including Pittsburgh, Erie and Harrisburg.
About 8.4% visit from the rest of the U.S., and the remaining guests come from all over, with about 0.1% being from outside the country.
The museum attracts many return visitors, Fleming said.
People, particularly families, often spend an entire day at the museum, he noted.
“It's one of the few sites you can do a full day,” Fleming said. “You can walk the arboretum, stroll along the creek, watch a planetarium show, have a snack, do all the exhibitions and programs, then maybe take a class and maybe come back for another planetarium show at the end of the day.”
Fleming said he has met museum visitors of all ages from young children to people in their 90s. Many have stories of visiting as children or other museum memories.
“There’s no question that we are held in high esteem by the people who call our county home,” he said. “And I hope they keep coming.”
