All-American dream. Seeing her in this context, 

 viewers may be moved to reflect on the elements of 

 that dream. With her improbably small feet, long 

 legs, perky breasts, elaborate hair, and bland expres- 

 sion, she seems neither mother, sexual partner, nor 

 worker but a fantasy of purely decorative femininity. 

 (Barbies come, these days, with briefcases and hard 

 hats for construction work, but one can't take such 

 accessories seriously. Would Barbie do anything likely 

 to disarrange costume or hair?) 



In the low-walled enclosure of Families at Work's 

 play space, two preschoolers squabble over a puzzle. "I 

 had it first!" "M31 turn!" When push and pull fails, the 

 smaller child offers a canny solution. "Let's both do 

 it!" Together, they make short work of the puzzle; 

 having discovered the pleasures of bot/iness, they 

 move towards the baby doll and the wagon. "I'll be 

 the mother and you can be the bus driver." The bus 

 driver's mother, meanwhile, has made herself com- 

 fortable in a nest of bright pillows. Asked what she 

 thinks of the exhibit, she offers a brass-tacks response. 

 "It's great to sit down and let the kids work off some 



energy. They hate being dragged around museums, 

 and half the time they can't see." A father — he's a re- 

 cent immigrant from Guatemala — says, "I like that 

 here we all learn. I talk to American parents. I 

 watch." Other visitors join in. "My boys mostly play 

 in the tubes. But then they'll race over to look at the 

 stuffed deer, or the toy sword." "I think a dress-up box 

 would be great. Stuff like what they see in the cases, 

 the wild hats and shoes." Some parents would like 

 more things for children to make and do; some wish 

 the Museum would provide staff to answer questions 

 about child care and development. A father asks if 

 there couldn't be at least one live animal for children 

 to observe. There's a silence while parents mull over 

 these possibilities. Then a young woman who identi- 

 fies herself as a university student of Early Childhood 

 says, "The Field's full of good stuff. What's special 

 here is the feeling — about families and the young. Like 

 that little jacket from Panama, the one with reverse 

 applique and a hood. That's not about keeping a kid 

 warm and dry. It's about love, and celebration, and 

 hope."FM 17 



