INTRODUCTION
The National Steinbeck Center is dedicated to the preservation of the art of John Steinbeck, and the celebration of his works and ideas, through an array of interpretive exhibits and cultural programs. To bring Steinbeck’s books to life, exhibits combine vivid juxtapositions of stage sets, films, scents, sounds, and tactile experiences. Each stage set is an activity center filled with exciting opportunities for discovery.

Interactive activities allow visitors of all ages to explore some of the things Steinbeck experiences, and to make connections to his narratives and characters. Throughout the exhibit, visitors hear and read Steinbeck’s words describing key experiences and places.

As they gain familiarity with the characters, themes and stories created by the Nobel Prize winning author, visitors are inspired to revisit, or read for the first time, such timeless works as The Grapes of Wrath, The Red Pony, The Pearl, and East of Eden.

ORIENTATION FILM: STEINBECK; EXPERIMENTER, PHILOSOPHER, TRAVELER, WRITER
In a comfortable, 48-seat theater, visitors view a ten-minute introductory film on the life of John Steinbeck. Here they gain an understanding of Steinbeck’s experimental approach to writing and to living, and a multi-talented writer who wrote everything from short stories and novels to Hollywood film scripts. Visitors also learn that he traveled extensively, sought new experiences, and was intensely curious about everything. The orientation film provides a chronology of Steinbeck’s life, and places him in historical and literary context.

JOHN STEINBECK EXHIBITION HALL
Framing the entrance of the permanent exhibit gallery are a life-size figure of John Steinbeck with his pencil and notebook, and a large, detailed map of the Monterey Peninsula and the Salinas Valley, his “valley of the world.” Visitors can match titles of Steinbeck’s regional works to locations on the map.

GROWING UP EAST OF EDEN
John Steinbeck, a second-generation Californian, was born and raised in Salinas. The area around Salinas and Monterey shaped his life, and many of his works are set in the region. Visitors enter the exhibit on simulated dirt road, past dissolving mural of regional landscapes. Visitors get a whiff of blossoms, and hear words from Steinbeck’s novels and stories.

Here vintage photographs, Steinbeck’s words, and oral interviews with family and friends offer glimpses of Oldtown Salinas, as well as John Steinbeck’s early years, his first attempts at writing, and his family. In a re-creation of his bedroom, visitors can take a close-up look at the books he read as a child, and explore the secret language he shared with his sister Mary. A copy of El Gabilan, the Salinas High School yearbook, and personal letters shares glimpses of Steinbeck’s formative teenage years.

The lettuce industry made a significant contribution to the development of the Salinas Valley. Visitors can learn more about agricultural history from Steinbeck’s works. A train track runs along one wall; on the side of a boxcar, a sign proudly proclaims "Salinas Valley Lettuce." Through the open boxcar door, visitors see crates of ice-packed lettuce and feel the cold air on their faces. Beyond, clips from filmed and staged versions of East of Eden show the dynamics of the Trask family. Nearby, text and graphic panels introduce visitors to Steinbeck’s ideas on free will, and the story’s biblical Cain and Abel allegory.

A real Model T truck invites youngsters to crank up the engine, following instructions taken directly from East of Eden. The Spreckels sugar plant, where Steinbeck worked as a teenager, is the focus of an interactive display featuring historic lab equipment and techniques.

AN LIVE OFF THE FATTA THE LAN’
Steinbeck’s life was rich with experiences of working and living on the land. His maternal grandparents owned a ranch near King City, and throughout his college years, Steinbeck worked as a field hand. After pausing to admire a collection of historic agricultural labels for the valley, visitors learn about Steinbeck’s classic short story, “The Chrysanthemums,” through an interactive exploration.

In a stage-set activity center that suggests a bunkhouse and barn, audio segments and excerpts from written works give visitors a glimpse into the first-hand knowledge of agricultural work and workers that formed the basis of East of Eden, Of Mice and Men, In Dubious Battle, and other writings.

Entering the barn, visitors are aware of a horse-stall aroma. They can pick up period telephones to listen to the viewpoints of strikers and growers from In Dubious Battle, then turn to passages from East of Eden in a setting reminiscent of Samuel Hamilton’s blacksmith shop. To one side, kids can handle tools and horseshoes. In a nearby horse stall, visitors learn more about Steinbeck’s childhood experiences as they view a photo of John and his sister riding the family’s pony. Then they encounter a joyous scene from The Red Pony; visitors small and tall can peek into the box stall to share the moment when Jody Tiflin first sees his pony. Young visitors can climb on the pony, brush his tail and mane with a real currycomb, and learn to braid a rawhide rope.

The other side of this activity center suggests a workers’ bunkhouse, with blanketed beds and a card table inset with playing cards, a dictionary, a clock, and other period items mentioned in Of Mice and Men. Visitors listen to descriptions of the bunkhouse environment and search among the artifacts for personal items belonging to the bindlestiffs; then they match articles of clothing with Steinbeck’s descriptions of key characters from Of Mice and Men. on one wall, visitors can watch film clips from The Red Pony and Of Mice and Men. text, graphic panels, and film narrative introduces Steinbeck’s thoughts on such topics as biological anomalies, as personified by Lennie.

THE GRAPES OF WRATH
Visitors follow Steinbeck on an epic journey into the tumultuous events of the Great Depression, and the people who populated such works as The Harvest Gypsies (nonfiction) and in the best-selling novel, The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck’s words combine with archival photographs and film footage to provide historical background and bring the scene to life.

Visitors find themselves in a stage-set activity center suggesting a combination tent-city (“Hooverville”) and a row of migrant laborers’ cabins. Here visitors learn about migrant life as it was then and still is today. Historical photos by Horace Bristol and others lend a feeling of authenticity to the life-size tent and cabin facades, confronting visitors with the clutter of dispossessed lives.

A roadside garage becomes the setting for mini-theater where visitors can sit on old bus seats to view episodes from the well-known film version of The Grapes of Wrath starring Henry Fonda as Tom Joad, and the award-winning Broadway version mounted by Steppenwolf.

Text and graphic panels introduce visitors to Steinbeck’s ideas about the perseverance of human dignity, his belief in “one soul” as explained by Tom Joad, and his empathy for ordinary people caught up in the tides of history. Visitors can listen to Steinbeck’s “I Am a Revolutionary” speech for further insight into his thinking. Panels showcase the controversy that followed the publication of The Grapes of Wrath.

CANNERY ROW
Cannery Row and its inhabitants had a powerful influence on John Steinbeck, and appeared in several of his books. As visitors move into a “coastal” environment, visitors find themselves in a Cannery Row setting of the 1920s and 1930s. Steinbeck’s words and vintage photographs help visitors travel through history, bringing the characters he knew and wrote about to life. Visitors view photomurals of life in a cannery, smell the fish, and hear the sounds of seagulls crying and waves lapping against the imaginary pilings below. After peering through the windows of Lee Chong’s grocery, they can look into the home of the boiler pipe family to hear Rodgers and Hammerstein music from Pipe Dream, and go on an imaginary “frog hunt” with Mac and the Boys.

John Steinbeck’s lifelong fascination with biology and ecology had a profound effect on his beliefs and writings. Inside Edward S. “Doc” Ricketts’ working science lab, visitors can share in this exploration of marine biology. Here they can use hand lenses to study preserved specimens of Monterey Bay marine life. At nearby text panels, visitors can read all “About Ed Ricketts” to learn of his philosophies and the importance of his friendship to Steinbeck’s life and work. Visitors can listen to an audio recording of “The Snake”" read by John Steinbeck himself, and view the original typescript of the short story, originally published in the Monterey Beacon.

In the Cannery Row mini-theater, visitors view film clips and readers’ theater versions of Steinbeck novels set in Monterey: Tortilla Flat, and Cannery Row (also based on Sweet Thursday). An interactive display highlights Steinbeck’s early interest in Arthurian legends, showing how Danny and his friends sought, won, and lost their “talisman” in Tortilla Flat.

ADVENTURES ON LAND AND SEA
Visitors learn about Steinbeck’s adventures with Ed Ricketts, John, Carol, and the crew on a collecting trip to the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) to study marine ecosystems. Steinbeck’s words from The Log from the Sea of Cortez describe the scenery and his collecting activities. Sensory boxes invite visitors to identify natural history specimens by touch or smell, then listen to a recreated short wave conversation between the Western Flyer and a fishing boat out of Monterey. A map of Baja, California traces the route of the Western Flyer, shown in a detailed scale model. Nearby, children can take a make-believe trip aboard a large scale replica of the Baby Flyer.

Steinbeck was fascinated by Mexico’s people, history, and culture. Steinbeck’s words lead visitors “inland,” describing the scenery and the people featured in The Pearl, The Forgotten Village, and Viva Zapata! Visitors look into a giant oyster to see what’s inside, then admire the crown jewel of the collection, the manuscript of The Pearl, sitting proudly on display in its own secured case.

Next, Steinbeck’s words tell the heroic story of Emiliano Zapata and the Mexican Revolution. Visitors enter a stage-set activity center that evokes a Mexican plaza, modeled on Steinbeck’s detailed descriptions. In the theater behind the plaza, film clips from Viva Zapata!, The Forgotten Village, and a reading of The Pearl run continuously enhanced by a collection of vintage movie posters from the films.

TOUCHING LIVES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
Steinbeck once said that he always wanted to be “where the action is.” In this display, excerpts from his writings and historic photos highlight Steinbeck’s travels as a journalist, war correspondent, and cultural exchange visitor. Visitors can view film footage from Lifeboat, The Moon is Down, and A Medal for Benny, and read passages from A Russian Journal. Here visitors also learn how Steinbeck’s work continues to touch lives throughout the world.

A mimeographed copy of The Moon is Down, distributed through an underground network during World War II, poignantly illustrates what Steinbeck’s writings meant to occupied Europe. Nearby, a bookcase displays some of the hundreds of translations of John Steinbeck’s works, along with selected writings by other authors of yesterday and today whose work has also been inspired by a sense of place.

Here visitors also learn about Steinbeck’s personal and publishing ties to New York, his role in theatrical experiments on Broadway, and his interest in jazz. A fun crossword puzzle invites Steinbeck buffs and neophytes alike to test their knowledge about the author and his works. A photo display describes what Steinbeck thought of as the happiest time of his life, a year he spent in England with his wife, researching Malory’s Morte d’Arthur (The Death of King Arthur). In a very real sense, he found his personal “Holy Grail” in this effort, and his Guinevere in Elaine Steinbeck.

STEINBECK’S AMERICA
Later in life, Steinbeck embarked on a search for meaning in a changing world. In this exhibit, Steinbeck’s words draw visitors into his journey through American culture in the 1960s. An overview of The Winter of Our Discontent is juxtaposed to family photographs of John and his family, at Sag Harbor and during their extensive travels. A spectacular photomural shows Steinbeck accepting the Nobel Prize; visitors can hear his acceptance speech and Elaine Steinbeck’s recollections, while they view displays of some of John Steinbeck’s other awards and honors.

The centerpiece of an exhibit on Travels With Charley is Steinbeck’s pickup camper, named Rocinante in honor of Don Quixote’s noble steed. Visitors can look in the windows to find a life-size model of Steinbeck’s poodle, Charley, inside. Excerpts from 1960s televised versions of Travels With Charley and America and Americans are also enriched by Elaine Steinbeck’s recollections.

A re-creation of Joyous Garde, Steinbeck’s writing studio, gives visitors a deeper glimpse into his life at this time. As they leave the exhibit, visitors can consult a complete list of awards and honors garnered by John Steinbeck, as well as a list of recent editions and criticism, and a detailed chronology of his life. Outside the National Steinbeck Center, Steinbeck’s home town and his beloved Salinas Valley await exploration.

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Exhibit descriptions prepared by Formations, Inc.