“Gabby’s Dollhouse MEOWseum Discovery Days” will be at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh Aug. 28-30. [Courtesy of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh]<\/p>\n
To determine if your child is a true fan of the Netflix series \u201cGabby\u2019s Dollhouse,\u201d just mention the Meow, Meow Mailbox and watch the excited reaction.<\/p>\n
Ask them what Pandy Paws might be saying prior to a mail delivery and you\u2019ll likely hear, \u201cI\u2019ve got a feeling in my whiskers.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because every episode begins with Gabby as a real girl before she magically shrinks down to explore her animated dollhouse. Each adventure starts with a delivery from the Meow, Meow Mailbox, inspiring a new story, craft, game, or recipe.<\/p>\n
The Children\u2019s Museum of Pittsburgh, which keeps its fingers on the pulse of what children love, is bringing the magic to life with the traveling exhibit \u201cGabby\u2019s Dollhouse MEOWseum Discovery Days\u201d from Aug. 28-30.<\/p>\n
A \u2018catastic\u2019 good time<\/p>\n
Max Pipman, senior director of marketing and communications at the museum, explains that the national tour is a collaboration between Dreamworks Animation and the Association of Children\u2019s Museums.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tour is a natural fit with the Children\u2019s Museum of Pittsburgh and is a chance to celebrate the power of imagination and creativity,\u201d Pipman said.<\/p>\n
The experience will include a timed meet-and-greet with a costumed Gabby, a dance party, a \u201cFind the Gabby Cat\u201d Scavenger Hunt storytime and a Hamster Kitties fairy craft. all free with a Children\u2019s Museum admission, or membership.<\/p>\n
\u201cGabby will be here, so it will be a really special moment for a photo opportunity,\u201d Pipman said.<\/p>\n
Families interested in meeting Gabby should reserve a time slot soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe expect them to go fast,\u201d said Pipman. \u201cThis is the second year and the largest tour yet. The only place to experience it in western Pennsylvania is here.\u201d<\/p>\n
A growth mindset<\/p>\n
Beyond the colorful characters, \u201cGabby\u2019s Dollhouse\u201d helps deliver meaningful lessons for children.<\/p>\n
It helps them understand that mistakes are a part of learning. Gabby and her friends often say they \u201cfailed fantastically\u201d to stress that missteps are a part of life.<\/p>\n
The series also helps children understand emotions. When Cakey Cat is excited, worried, or happy, his colorful sprinkles change to match his feelings because baking sweet treats brings him joy. Each character has its own favorite hobbies and talents. For example, Carlita loves racing and DJ Catnip loves making music.<\/p>\n
Gabby also inspires children to persevere. \u201cDon\u2019t give up, give it a go; stay pawsitive,\u201d she is known to say.<\/p>\n
Parents visiting the museum will likely see the excitement begin before they even enter, starting with a bus parked out front.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be something they will remember,\u201d said Pipman.<\/p>\n
Or, as Gabby would say, \u201cMeow-mories are the best treasures.\u201d<\/p>\n
The creators<\/p>\n
The success of \u201cGabby\u2019s Dollhouse\u201d comes from Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey who bring with them decades of expertise in creating preschool entertainment.<\/p>\n
Johnson, the co-creator and original voice of \u201cBlue\u2019s Clues,\u201d promotes interactive storytelling that invites children to participate, explore and embrace creativity.<\/p>\n
Emmy-nominated producer and writer Twomey, brings expertise in early childhood development, literacy and social-emotional learning.<\/p>\n
Their shared philosophy blends entertainment with play, helping young viewers to bring the show\u2019s lessons from the dollhouse into their own lives.<\/p>\n
Insights from fans<\/p>\n
Natalie Medved, Pittsburgh resident and head of broadcast at Pace Public Relations, reached out to her brother Rudy, whose children are aged 4 and 5, to ask what they enjoy most about the show.<\/p>\n
His daughter Quinlee said she loves when Pandy Paws \u201chug attacks\u201d and she also enjoys CatRat. CatRat has been known to cause a bit of mischief with the exit line: \u201cI\u2019m CatRat and I\u2019m out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her brother Mason said, \u201cCakey is fun too. I like it when they throw sprinkle parties.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad weighs in as well. \u201cThe show makes my daughter happy, so we like it and CatRat is a funny name for a character so we all laugh when CatRat is involved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For more information visit gabbysdollhouse.com\/events\/meowseum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“Gabby’s Dollhouse MEOWseum Discovery Days” will be at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh Aug. 28-30. [Courtesy of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269279,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[734,73,75,74],"class_list":["post-269278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-children","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}