ST LOUIS (June 6, 2024) – Starting June 22, families can visit The Magic House to experience a new nationally traveling exhibit, Alma’s Way: Welcome to My Neighborhood!, an immersive exhibit developed and fabricated by The Magic House in collaboration with Fred Rogers Productions. The exhibit is based on Alma’s Way, the hit animated series on PBS KIDS®. The series follows the neighborhood adventures of 6-year-old Alma Rivera, a proud, confident Puerto Rican girl who lives in the Bronx with her family and a diverse group of friends and neighbors.

“We are thrilled to work with The Magic House to bring Alma’s neighborhood to life in a unique way that families can experience together,” said Ellen Doherty, executive producer, Alma’s Way, and chief creative officer, Fred Rogers Productions. “Kids can learn about the 6 train, dance Bomba, and shop at the bodega – just like Alma!”

The series was created by actor and writer, Sonia Manzano, who positively impacted the lives of generations of children as “Maria” on Sesame Street. Sonia created Alma’s Way by drawing inspiration from her own childhood in the Bronx. In every episode, Alma models life lessons while encouraging kids to develop critical thinking skills and value their own ideas and questions.

The familiar environments from the show come to life as visitors are transported to Alma’s vibrant neighborhood in the Bronx to explore:

Alma’s Family Duplex: Step inside Alma’s welcoming Family Duplex, where generations come together to share traditions. Learn to make mofongo, a Puerto Rican dish, or immerse yourself in the sounds of Puerto Rican music by playing instruments like maracas and hand drums. Outside, play hopscotch on the sidewalk or have a barbecue in the backyard.

Bodega: Explore a Bangladeshi Bronx Bodega, a small neighborhood store that is full of a variety of items like food, drinks, snacks, school supplies, household items, and souvenirs. Contribute to a collaborative community mural, adding a creative touch to the vibrant streetscape.

Community Center: Discover the rich heritage of Puerto Rican culture at the Community Center, where you can participate in Bomba dance lessons and learn to play the Bomba drums.

Pet Clinic: Become a veterinarian like Alma’s papi, Dr. Rivera, and perform check-ups while learning about fascinating creatures like parrots, lizards, and red-eyed tree frogs, then create your own video inspired by Dr. Rivera’s internet animal show.

6 Train: Take a subway ride aboard the 6 train, play The Alma Train game, and be a conductor like Alma’s Tía Gloria.

Park: Go on a quest to find coquÍs, tiny frogs native to Puerto Rico. Enjoy a game of checkers, climb on rock formations, or decorate a cardboard clubhouse.

Since Alma’s Way premiered in 2021, it has been developed into successful educational digital games, launched a publishing program with Scholastic, is a three-time Imagen Award winner, and has been nominated for two Emmy® Awards and the NAACP Image Award, among other notable and prestigious honors.

The series is currently in its second season on PBS KIDS. It is produced by Fred Rogers Productions in association with Pipeline Studios (Elinor Wonders Why™). Ellen Doherty and Manzano are executive producers. Jorge Aguirre (Goldie & Bear) is head writer and co-executive producer. Additional co-executive producers are Luis Lopez and Juan Lopez. Supervising producer for Fred Rogers Productions is Olubunmi Mia Olufemi.

Alma’s Way: Welcome to My Neighborhood! is free with Museum admission and will be at The Magic House from June 22 through January 5, when it will begin traveling to other children’s museums around the country.

About The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum

The Magic House is a not-for-profit participatory museum that provides hands-on learning experiences that spark imagination, pique curiosity, enhance creativity and develop problem-solving skills within a place of beauty, wonder, joy, and magic. Serving more than 550,000 visitors annually, the Museum has 55,000 square feet of hands-on exhibits designed for children ages 2-11 years. In 2019, the Museum opened a 7,000 square foot satellite location in the City of St. Louis, MADE for Kids, that contains a Makers Space, Art Studio, Design Lab and Entrepreneur Marketplace geared for children 4-14 years. To stay up-to-date with The Magic House, visit www.magichouse.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

About Fred Rogers Productions

Fred Rogers Productions was founded by Fred Rogers in 1971 as the non-profit producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for PBS. In the years that followed, it created hundreds of episodes of this much-loved program and extended Fred’s values and approach to other efforts in promoting children’s social, emotional, and behavioral health while supporting parents, caregivers, teachers, and other professionals in their work with children. Fred Rogers Productions continues to build on Fred’s legacy in innovative ways through a wide variety of media and engages new generations of children and families with his timeless wisdom. The company’s highly rated children’s series, including Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Peg + Cat, Odd Squad, and Through the Woods, have earned 30 Emmy® Awards among other important honors. The company’s latest series are Donkey Hodie, the innovative puppet series inspired by characters from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and Alma’s Way, an animated series created by Sonia Manzano. Fred Rogers Productions strives to inspire a lifelong enthusiasm for learning through its series as well as efforts beyond broadcast including games and interactive offerings, community engagement activities, and much more. For more information, visit www.fredrogers.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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