Fred Rogers met children’s author and artist Eric Carle in 1997, and thus began a special bond between them centered on entertaining children.

Along the way, the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh became a part of that relationship, leading to the museum’s decision in recent years to create “The Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit” to personify the “Very” series of Mr. Carle’s children’s books.

Premiering today at the North Side museum, the traveling exhibit will remain in Pittsburgh until Sept. 20. It’s in such demand that it already is booked at museums around the country and will stay on the road for the next 10 years.  

The exhibit is co-organized with The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Mass.

The Children’s Museum had one main goal in mind when it decided to develop the exhibit: show the world Mr. Carle’s famous artwork and books in a way that personified them and brought them to life.  “We are always mindful of the art because that’s what’s so great about Eric,” said Bill Schlageter, director of marketing for the Children’s Museum. 

Mr. Carle is best known for his book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” which was published in 1969. Mr. Carle is now 85 years old and lives in North Carolina where he still works in his studio. 

Other notable works include “The Very Busy Spider,” “The Very Quiet Cricket,” “The Very Clumsy Click Beetle” and “The Very Lonely Firefly.” These books, along with “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” will be represented in interactive stations in the exhibit.

Upon entering the exhibit, visitors will see the pages from “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” brought to life. They will be able to walk through the pages and peek their heads through the items that the caterpillar eats in the book, like a piece of chocolate cake. 

Following their journey of the bug’s life as a caterpillar, children will move around shapes on a projector to decorate the wall. Then, they can don butterfly wings of their own, which were handmade by Poorvi Das, an artist from India.

Children also can climb through 7,000 feet of spider web in the installation inspired by Mr. Carle’s “The Very Busy Spider” book. “The springy feeling of the floors takes you to another place,” said Kitty Spangler of Lawrenceville, the designer of the spider web installation.

Children can even create their own artwork in a studio that resembles Mr. Carle’s own studio. Colored and printed paper will be available to make a similar type of abstract art that Mr. Carle has created. “I think we’re going to see some wonderful art coming out of the studio,” Mr. Schlageter said.

Most of the exhibit was designed and created by local artists. It is “interactive, hand-made, and locally fabricated,” he said. “It has an organic quality to it that you can feel in the exhibit.”  

Now the back story. Viewers of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” watched when Fred Rogers visited Mr. Carle in his Northampton, Mass. studio in 1997 for a 10-minute segment on painting and creating a design out of tissue paper. 

“He developed a friendship with Eric, and I can see why they were such good friends,” said Jane Werner, executive director of the Children’s Museum. “They’re both incredibly nice men.”

Then, in Ms. Werner’s first year heading the museum in 1999, Fred Rogers gave Mr. Carle the Great Friend of Children Award. As a surprise, Mr. Rogers and Mr. Carle presented Ms. Werner with an award of her own after the award show, which was held in PIttsburgh. 

“They gave me this package, and I thought that they just wanted me to hold onto it. They were kind of funny together, Fred and Eric. But they said that ‘it’s for you,’ ” she said. 

When she opened the package, it was a piece of signed artwork from both Mr. Rogers and Mr. Carle. “It was a moment in time where you know that they expect great things,” Ms. Werner said, who has the painting hanging in her office. ”They have done great things, and they expect me to do great things.”

As years passed, Mrs. Werner remained in close contact with Mr. Carle, both making visits to each others’ museums. In 2012, they discussed creating an exhibit to honor his work. 

Ms. Werner got to work with the logistics in 2013.  It was the perfect partnership, she said, because “The Eric Carle Museum had the product and name recognition, and we had the expertise to get it going.”

The Eden Hall Foundation, the Fisher Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation, the Hillman Foundation, the Wherret Memorial Fund of the Pittsburgh Foundation and an anonymous donor helped underwrite the exhibit.

Mr. Carle “liked our museum a lot, and he trusted us,” Ms. Werner said. “I think that’s why he chose to work with us.”

Jewell Porter: jporter@post-gazette.com or on Twitter @jewell_porter

First Published: June 13, 2015, 4:00 a.m.