Minnesota Children's Museum

Photo from How People Make Things exhibit

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How People Make Things

February 18 - June 3, 2012

Every Object Has a Story of How It is Made

Get a behind-the-scenes look at how everyday items are created in How People Make Things, an exhibit inspired by the factory tour segments from the Mister Rogers' Neighborhood television series. Explore hands-on activities using real factory tools and machines to create objects with four manufacturing processes- molding, cutting, deforming and assembly.

Everyday products featured in How People Make Things include 10,000 Crayola crayons in 90 colors, 10,000 plastic pellets, 300 ice cream cups, stop lights, cooking pans, baseball bats and matchbox cars.

See the nuts and bolts of how products are manufactured through hands-on activities such as:

Flatten a penny by placing it into one of two rolling mills.
Operate a 3-axis mill and use the hand wheels to move the x,y, or z axis to cut a block of machinable wax.
Assemble parts of a real golf cart using tires, dials, body panels and a steering wheel.
Dress up like a factory worker with safety glasses, overcoats, hardhats and aprons. Then, compare your reflection to pictures of real factory workers.
Race a robotic arm to see who assembles a replica of the signature trolley from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood faster.

How People Make Things will continue at Minnesota Children's Museum through June 3, 2012.

Sponsored locally by

Local promotional support by

Created by Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh in collaboration with Family Communications, Inc. (FCI), the producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and the University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out-of-School Environments (UPCLOSE).