They are a lot of fun, says Dana Rogers, director of marketing and public relations at the museum. "Every time you open one, you feel like a kid again. You get a feeling of wonder as the pages pop up. I watch that spinning tornado, and it takes me back to my childhood every time."

As exciting as the pop-up books are, however, they are only one part of Sabuda's art. He has also illustrated a number of other children's books — both his own stories and stories by others — and some of that art is also included in the exhibit.

"He's a great paper engineer, but he's also a great artist," says Catherall. "He uses an incredible range of techniques and abilities — things he's never done before, but just wants to try."

For example, to illustrate a book called "The Blizzard's Robe," Sabuda used a batik technique — but instead of doing it on cloth, he did it on paper.

For a book called "Arthur and the Sword," Sabuda used plexiglas, dyes and liquid lead to create a stained-glass effect. For "The Paper Dragon," he painted tissue with gesso to stabilize it, then painted the other side in various colors and cut out pieces to form pictures using Chinese paper-cutting techniques and style.

For "Saint Valentine," Sabuda painted sheets of paper and then cut tiny, tiny squares to form them into mosiacs. For "Tutankhamen's Gift," he cut one sheet of black paper into a lacy outline that he then laid over pictures he had painted on handmade papyrus. They all fit exactly, of course.

He's clearly an expert with an X-Acto knife, says Catherall, with a laugh. "But he also demonstrates that there are so many ways to create art. All it takes is time and imagination."

She hopes people will enjoy coming to look, but she also hopes the show will inspire them to create. You can start small, she says. For example, the museum offers a simple do-it-yourself project as part of the exhibit. By making a few simple folds and one little snip, kids (and adults, too) can make a pop-up mouth.

And then they can use crayons or other things to put anything they want around that mouth — the only limit is the imagination, she says. The project has had tremendous response so far. "We've already gone through 5,000 of the sheets."

And that's the thing she loves most about the exhibit. "It's very, very fascinating how Sabuda can take paper — something that we've all had, we've all used — and manipulate it in so many ways to create three dimensions."

The art of Robert Sabuda