FOR KIDS - The Engineer Who Could

Nebraska Quiltmaker Ernest B. Haight is known for his prolific career -- making more than 300 quilts in his lifetime. As a trained engineer, he is also famous for his precise and efficient piecing and quilting processes.

You can see his skill displayed in this quilt, which is now on display in "The Engineer Who Could: Ernest Haight's Half Century of Quiltmaking."

Interlocking Triangles, machine pieced and quilted by Ernest B. Haight, dated 1984,
90" x 74", IQSCM 2001.005.0001, Nebraska State Quilt Guild Collection.

If you take a closer look at the quilt, you'll also see a variety of colorful, patterned fabrics.

Look even closer:

Examining the fabrics and shapes used in Ernest's quilts can be a fun way to engage children who are viewing this and other exhibitions. We encourage our youngest visitors to tell us what they find while looking at quilts:

• What shapes do you see? Triangles! Squares!

• What colors do you see? Yellow! Blue! Green! Pink!

• What patterns do you see on the fabrics? Flowers! Checkers! Spots!

For this exhibition, we have an "I Spy" worksheet available for children to use while looking at Ernest's Untitled (Tumbling Blocks). Made in 1968, the fabrics feature everything from polka dots to trains.

Once children find all of the hidden pictures in the quilt, they can return the worksheet to our Welcome Desk and earn a sticker to take home with them.

As a farmer, Ernest was also fond of wearing overalls. We created this coloring sheet to give children an opportunity to design their own pair of overalls fit for a quilter and engineer.

You can download a copy of the coloring page here.

If you and your family visit IQSCM in person, be sure to ask for a Quilt Explorer bag at the front desk. Each bag contains worksheets, books and other activities for our youngest visitors to use during their museum experience.

For more information about Ernest Haight - The Engineer Who Could -- visit the online exhibition and watch this video series.