Interactive Mo Willems exhibit opens at the Long Island Children's Museum 

Amicus Phillips, 5, of Uniondale, high-fived his mother, Keshia Beckford, 44, after he accomplished an arcade-style challenge at the Long Island Children’s Museum — catapulting a foam hot dog through a moving hoop.

The carnival-style game is part of a traveling exhibit called “The Pigeon Comes to Long Island! A Mo Willems Exhibit” that opened recently at the Garden City museum and is included with admission through May 14. All of the games are interactive and feature the cartoon characters from Willems’ books — the hot dog game is a nod to his 2004 book “The Pigeon Finds A Hot Dog!”

“Mo Willems is the Dr. Seuss of this era,” says Margo Malter, director of exhibits for the museum. “I used to teach preschool before I worked here, and his books were incredibly popular.”

The books emphasize kindness, best friends and gratitude, says Maureen Mangan, director of communications for the museum. “Good messages we have to keep reinforcing,” she adds. She says she hopes that experiencing the characters come to life will encourage children to want to check the books out of the library and read.

Her goal seems to already have reached at least one child — Stella Chen, 5, of Hicksville. Already reading on her own, Stella picked up one of the books on display at the exhibit called “Waiting is Not Easy!” and sat reading it on a bench. Willems’ books also will be for sale at the museum store.

Here's what else children — and their caregivers — can enjoy at the new offering:

• “Drive” around the exhibit in a wearable cardboard bus. Willems’ first book, in 2003, was “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” It introduced the silly city bird.
• Spin the Laundromat washing machine and search for Knuffle Bunny and other characters caught among the clothes. In Willems’ 2004 book “Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale,” a child and his father accidentally put the stuffed bunny in the wash. “I found the pigeon,” shouted Naomi Arevalo, 8, of Hempstead, to her twin sister, Sara, during their recent visit to the museum.
• Dress Wilbur in different clothing and turn hand cranks to send him down a fashion runway — Wilbur starred in the 2009 book “Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed.”
• Play a plinko-style game in a quest to get a cookie to Duckling from the 2012 book “The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?” “I got it two times,” says Kingston Sun, 5, of Jericho, mesmerized by the pulley style system he operated to move the cookie up a board.
• Make best friends Elephant and Piggie dance using zoetrope animation a la Willems 2009 book “Elephants Cannot Dance!”
• Build Leonardo from the 2005 book “Leonardo the Terrible Monster” by stacking lightweight blocks that illustrate his head or his body.
• Trace Willems' characters at the light table or follow Willems’ step-by-step video instructions to draw Pigeon freehand.
• A variety of craft workshops will be offered for free during designated days, allowing children to make such items as a pigeon with movable wings, a Wilbur puppet, a spinning washing machine and more.

To complement the exhibit, the museum theater will feature Willems' newest production "Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical!" from Feb. 11 to March 25  and Elephant & Piggie’s “We are in a Play!” from April 23 to June 3. The shows entail an additional fee — $9 for ages 3 and older in addition to museum admission, and $12 for theater only. Visit licm.org for show times.

By Beth Whitehouse

beth.whitehouse@newsday.comBethWhitehouse1

Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.