Fred Rogers Scholars to host exhibition highlighting Rogers’ TV career

Exhibition will be on display in Latrobe Art Center

LATROBE, PA – The Fred Rogers Scholars will be hosting their annual Latrobe Art Center exhibition on Saturday, March 21, from 1-3 p.m. at the Latrobe Art Center. This year’s event is titled “Puppets, Puppets Everywhere: The Evolution of Fred Rogers’ Television Career.”

This exhibition, taking place inside the Center located at 819 Ligonier St. in downtown Latrobe, is free and open to the public. The curated exhibition focuses on Rogers’ start in television on the children’s show “The Children’s Corner,” as well as his use of puppetry to encourage communication and creativity in children. This exhibition will be on display for a month at the Center.

The curation process, which spanned four months, involved 20 Fred Rogers Scholars working in two teams to determine artifacts to display and develop a narrative related to their respective exhibit topics. Fred Rogers Institute senior archivist Emily Uhrin, C’05, selects a number of artifacts to share with students as they work through this process, though they share their ideas and vision with her over time.

Hope Farley, a senior marketing major from St. Marys, leads the Children’s Corner group as they explore Rogers’ start as a puppeteer on “The Children’s Corner.” Additional team members include:

• Sydney Campbell, a senior accounting major from Friedens
• Jeremy (Lance) Bender, a senior psychology major from Cumberland, Maryland
• Pearl Russell, a junior English major from Latrobe
• Kayla McClucas, a junior psychology major from Berlin
• Alexandros Fekos, a senior criminology, law and society major from Pittsburgh
• Jakob Krumenaker, a senior biology major from Lowber
• Grace Stasiak, a senior communications major from Windber
• Molly Hudson, a senior health and physical education major from Irwin
• Abigail Graham, a sophomore psychology major from McKeesport

Rachel Zgurich, a junior early childhood education major from Pittsburgh, leads the puppetry group as they explore the use of puppetry to promote connection and creativity with and for children. Additional team members include:

• Stephen Laun, a senior environmental science major from Pittsburgh
• Nora Kudis, a freshman history major from Clairton
• Nick Gasper, a junior business data analytics major from Bethel Park
• Bailey Green, a freshman health science major from York
• Catherine Connell, a sophomore early childhood education major from Greensburg
• Ethan Ridgeway, a sophomore health and physical education major from Carnegie
• Mateo Camacho, a senior biology major from Somerset
• Kayleigh Thompson, a senior early childhood education major from Harrison City
• Chloe Fontanazza, a senior art education major from Jeannette

This event will also feature presentations by Farley and Zgurich as they offer their respective group’s findings and discuss the overall process. They will also answer questions related to these pieces and the process as a whole.

The Fred Rogers Scholars will also have hands-on activities related to the exhibition, including a Daniel Tiger mask activity and a puppet-making activity for children and their families.

The event is produced in cooperation with the Be My Neighbor Committee. Backed by a grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the committee is comprised of representation from Saint Vincent College, the City of Latrobe, the Greater Latrobe School District, Independence Health System, the Latrobe Community Revitalization Program and the Latrobe Foundation.

The Fred Rogers Scholars Program educates and inspires students interested in pursuing careers or graduate work in service of children, youth and/or families in alignment with the mission of the Fred Rogers Institute. Coordinated by faculty and staff at the Institute, the scholars study the Fred Rogers Archive and contribute to Institute-driven initiatives in the local community.