Kansas City Museum Recreates Children's Books in Life-Size Exhibits

The Rabbit hOle, a museum in Kansas City, Missouri, has transformed popular children's literature into interactive, life-size environments. The facility occupies more than 40,000 square feet and features 45 distinct exhibits based on well-known titles.

Visitors can walk through recreated scenes from classic books such as “Madeline,” “Frog and Toad,” and “Curious George.” Newer titles like “My Garden” and “I Want My Hat Back” also have dedicated spaces. One exhibit replicates the “great green room” from “Goodnight Moon,” complete with a bed, a fireplace, an oversized rocking chair, and a moving moon.

Each exhibit includes the corresponding book, allowing children to read within the setting. Staff note that it is common to see children reading titles like “The Fire Cat” or “I am a Bunny” inside the thematic displays. One specific display features a 16-foot giant panda named Stillwater, taken from Jon J. Muth’s book “Zen Shorts.” All displays are constructed in-house at the museum's factory.

The museum opened in 2024. Since then, it has received more than 300,000 visitors from all 50 U.S. states and several countries, including Italy, Sweden, and Singapore. Founder Peter Cowdin and his wife, Deb Pettid, previously operated a bookstore for 28 years before launching the museum project.

Cowdin stated that the idea for the venue developed over several years. He said the goal was to celebrate the history and culture of children's books without focusing on marketing or sales. “We wanted to do something that celebrated children’s literature in a way that had nothing to do with marketing and sales, but had everything to do with the history and culture and the books,” Cowdin said.

Federal data indicates a decline in recreational reading among young people. In the 1980s, more than half of 9-year-olds read for fun almost every day. Recent data from the Nation’s Report Card shows that figure has dropped to 37%. Among 13-year-olds, only 14% regularly read for fun. Meanwhile, 65% of children ages 8 to 13 watch television daily, averaging 5.5 hours of screen time each day.

Parents attribute the museum's success to its ability to make reading engaging. Abbey Mecca, who visits with her three children, described reading as a non-negotiable part of her household culture. She said, “It’s not an option to not read at our house.” Another visitor, Idean Bindell, a mother of three, noted that the exhibits helped her children appreciate the process of storytelling beyond just looking at books on a shelf.

Cowdin said the museum does not aim to remove screens from children's lives, but the immersive nature of the exhibits often leads to that outcome. “I never run into a kid wanting to be on a phone or a tablet in here ever,” he said. He believes the venue counters the tendency to treat reading as a chore by emphasizing joy rather than skill acquisition.

To keep ticket prices affordable, Cowdin and Pettid negotiated free rights for every exhibit. Authors or their estates had to agree to these terms. The current admission fee is $16 per person, and children aged 2 and younger enter for free.