Kosciusko welcomed a new hands-on educational experience today as the Kosciusko Attala Partnership and Mississippi Children’s Museum officially held a ribbon cutting for Rocky’s House, a 600-square-foot traveling exhibit.
Developed through the Mississippi Children’s Museum and its early literacy initiative Talk from the Start, the exhibit is designed to help children build foundational language skills through interactive play—and just as importantly, to encourage adults to engage with them throughout the experience.
It is housed at The Refuge, a building on E Jefferson Street owned by First Baptist Church that has been made available for the project.
Emily Hoff, Executive Director of the Mississippi Children’s Museum, said the project is deeply personal to the organization and directly tied to early childhood development research.
“This exhibit is based around our Talk from the Start campaign, which is all about the importance of talking from zero to five,” Hoff said. “Children need to hear 21,000 words a day during that time period in their life in order to be ready to read when they get to kindergarten and first grade.”
Rather than focusing only on children, Hoff emphasized that much of the exhibit is intentionally designed to guide parents and caregivers.
“You will see prompts that aren’t necessarily for the children. They are for the adults and the caregivers in their lives to ask them questions, to help them explore the space,” she said.
The exhibit features multiple themed, imagination-driven environments intended for children roughly ages 0 to 8.
Visitors of all ages were present at today’s ribbon cutting, including Mississippi House Speaker Jason White, who played a key role in helping bring organizers together to make the project happen in Kosciusko.
Rocky’s House will remain in Kosciusko through August 2 and is free to the public. Hours have been updated following today’s announcement: the exhibit will be open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. It will be closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Hoff also encouraged families to take advantage of the traveling exhibit locally, and then visit the permanent installation in Jackson.
“Rocky has a permanent house at the Mississippi Children’s Museum in Jackson, so we hope that all our friends in Kosciusko will come out and visit this, but then come join us this summer in our Jackson location and see Rocky’s permanent house,” she said.
The traveling exhibit is part of a broader effort to expand early literacy engagement across Mississippi, blending education with hands-on play in a way organizers hope will leave a lasting impact on children and families.
More information on programming and volunteer opportunities is expected to be released throughout the exhibit’s run.
