Oh, the place you’ll go, Dr. Seuss fans!
Do you like green eggs and ham? Do you like them in a house? How about in a house that’s a museum dedicated to Dr. Seuss?
Fans of Horton, Yertle the Turtle, Marvin K. Mooney and the Cat in the Hat now have a new vacation destination: A museum dedicated to legendary children’s book author Dr. Seuss has opened in Springfield, Mass.
The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum recently opened its doors in the town where the iconic writer and illustrator Theodor Seuss Geisel was born. The museum’s opening drew about 2,000 visitors, many with “The Cat in the Hat” style headgear, television station WWLP reported.
Geisel was born in Springfield in 1904 and later found work as a cartoonist before releasing his first book, “The Pocket Book of Boners,” in 1931. He later gained fame for now-classic works like “If I Ran the Zoo,” “Horton Hears a Who!” and “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.”
The new museum contains two stories, with a ground floor aimed at kids with interactive exhibits and places to play rhyming games, invent stories and create alone and with friends. The second floor includes personal memorabilia belonging to Ted Geisel, including original oil paintings, hats, bow ties, and furniture from his sitting room and studio, including a breakfast table, armchair and Geisel’s drawing board.
What won’t be on display? Geisel’s lesser-known early advertising work, World War II-era propaganda and political illustrations, which include racist representations. Kay Simpson, president of the Springfield Museums complex, told the AP that even though the organization has exhibited Geisel’s wartime work, it won’t be part of the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss because the new museum is aimed primarily at children.
The museum is Springfield’s second tribute to Seuss. In 2002, the city celebrated the opening of the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, which features five bronze sculptures of some of the author’s most famous characters, including Horton, Yertle and the Cat in the Hat.
The new museum seemed to be a hit with Springfield residents.
“A lot of people don’t realize that this is the birthplace of Dr. Seuss, and where all the inspiration and the stories had to come from,” P. Siphanoum told WWLP. “You look around and it’s like, wow. Drawing inspiration from the city, it’s beautiful.”
Geisel died of cancer in 1991 in La Jolla, where he had lived for many years.