For North Americans, The Hundred Languages of Children exhibit reshapes the image of exhibits. Normally known as precious collections of art, assembled for the enjoyment and reflection of a wide public audience, exhibits have typically lived within a fairly narrow conception connected almost entirely to the world of fine art. Borrowing from the power of visibility, display, transparency, interpretation, and democratic exchange, this exhibit is born, instead, of the world of education.

It is an education document of Reggio Emilia, Italy’s infant-toddler centers and preschools, cultivated through 45 years of experimentation, new actions, and ongoing research—initially developed as a communication reference point from the schools to their community. Now, this exhibit wants to be a new and complementary form of professional development for educators and other child advocates who take seriously their responsibilities as agents and partners in building better the world in which children find themselves. The exhibit, financed and hosted almost entirely by educators throughout its North American journey since 1987, has been redesigned and expanded, ready to continue the professional development project that aspires to improve the quality of early childhood education worldwide.