Rockwell’s America at the King of Prussia Plaza

Did you know that there is a national touring exhibit of Norman Rockwell’s work?

Did you know that one of the stops on the tour is the King of Prussia Mall of all places?

It’s true. Rockwell’s America: Celebrating the art of Norman Rockwell has taken up residence at the King of Prussia Mall. In the Plaza (the big part), where Strawbridge’s used to be. Right near the Rite Aid entrance.

The exhibit opened on October 29th and will be open through March 14th. Admission is $5 for adults, children under 12 are free. Love free stuff!

My mom and I took my kids there last weekend and it was really fun and interactive. Many of Rockwell’s most memorable Saturday Evening Post covers have been turned into sculptures that the kids can walk around and touch. And in some cases, there are places in the “sculpture” to be part of the show. For example, this soda shop has a couple of open seats.

Rockwell’s covers for the Saturday Evening Post covered four decades, from the 20s through the 60s and so many historical moments were captured in his work. The display moves through Americana, technology advances, wars, and civil rights. And of course, there are Christmas pictures that are filled with nostalgia.

The final section is a display of all 322 of the covers. It was fun to try to find the ones from my parents’ birth dates.

I was vaguely familiar with Norman Rockwell’s work, but this exhibit was really impressive and does a great job of showing how he was a defining presence in American culture for all of those years.

The kids loved seeing all of the funny pictures, and the interactive parts of the exhibit were a big hit with them.

They especially liked the assembly line near Rosie the Riveter. And the switchboard. And the cars they could sit in. And Santa. They really liked it all!

This is a great family friendly outing. We coupled it with lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, which was also very fun, although not nearly as inspirational.

Kristen Bassick is a contributor at Chester County Moms. She lives in Chester Springs with her husband, Mike; daughter, Sprout (10); son, Tater (7); and two dogs. Be sure to read more about Kristen’s exploits as she attempts to improve herself one month at a time in her blog 43 Resolutions.