The Met Paper Dollhouse: Travel Through Time and Explore the Period Rooms at the Metropolitan Museum of Art! (DK The Met)
DK The Met Series
What’s inside...
Produced in partnership with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this interactive book invites children to press out sturdy paper pieces and build a multi-story dollhouse inspired by the museum’s famous period rooms. Each spread presents a different historical interior—from ancient Egypt to a 19th-century American parlor—accompanied by bite-size facts about architecture, furniture, clothing, and daily life. By constructing rooms and placing paper figures, readers gain hands-on insight into world history, art, and design while exercising creativity and fine-motor skills.
Series reading
Non-Sequential
Age
5-7
Length
14 pages
Text complexity
Discussion points
Which room would you most like to live in and why?
How does furniture design show what people valued in each era?
What similarities did you notice across different cultures’ rooms?
How might future rooms look if this book were updated in 100 years?
Tip: Role play these questions
Compare household objects at home to period items; visit the Met online galleries for deeper dives.
Key lessons
Example Lesson: History is shaped by ordinary homes as well as grand palaces.
Explanation: Each room features everyday objects, not just royal treasures.
Real-World Application: Encourages kids to view their own surroundings as part of history.
Example Lesson: Creativity bridges time and culture.
Explanation: Readers redesign rooms by mixing styles with press-out pieces.
Real-World Application: Prompts kids to remix old and new ideas in their own projects.
Example Lesson: Careful observation unlocks learning.
Explanation: Spot-the-detail prompts train children to notice textures and patterns.
Real-World Application: Improves attention to detail in schoolwork and hobbies.