Every object in our world has a story of how it is made. How People Make Things tells that story by linking familiar childhood objects to a process of manufacturing that combines people, ideas and technology.  This exhibit opens today and runs through September 22 at the Museum of Discovery

The exhibit, inspired by the factory tour segments from the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood television series, offers hands-on activities using real factory tools and machines to create objects with four manufacturing processes – molding, cutting, deforming and assembly.

Step into the exhibit’s main office, where you can don coveralls, lab coats, aprons, safety glasses, boots and hard hats to become a factory technician, worker or supervisor.

Use a die cutter to make a box and a horse, operate a 3-axis mill to carve a block of wax, assemble parts of a real golf cart and see who can assemble a replica of the signature trolley from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood the fastest. You can also mold pourable wax, explore vacuum forming and injection molding and match products to the mold from which they were made.  Or play the “People in Your Neighborhood” matching game, developed with The Saturday Light Brigade radio program, where audio clues and stories help you match the person to the object they make.

“Manufacturing is an industry critical to Arkansas’s economy, and we are proud the Museum of Discovery has leased this blockbuster exhibit that shows children and their families through hands-on experiences the variety of engaging activities that take place every day on the floor of manufacturing facilities,” said Kelley Bass, Chief Executive Officer at the Museum of Discovery. “Our museum’s mission is igniting a passion for science, technology and math in a dynamic, interactive environment, and How People Make Things brings that mission to life for our visitors.”

The exhibit also features factory tour videos from the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood television series that depict the making of crayons, carousel horses, balls, traffic lights, quarters, shoes, toy cars and toy wagons.

Additional products featured in How People Make Things include 10,000 Crayola crayons in 90 colors, 10,000 plastic pellets, traffic lights, cooking pans, sneakers, baseball bats, baseball mitts and matchbox cars.

Arkansas manufacturers will be represented through supplemental exhibit pieces, including valves from Cameron Valves and a pump produced by Franklin Electric. A streaming presentation from Cameron will also show how the company’s valves are made and can be deconstructed.

How People Make Things is sponsored by Cameron Valves, Arkansas Manufacturing Solutions and Franklin Electric.