BIGGEST, BEST Dr. Seuss Birthday Party
SPRINGFIELD (MA)—The Springfield Museums present the BIGGEST, BEST Dr. Seuss Birthday Party, Saturday, March 5, from 10 am to 5 pm, rain, shine, or snow! Join the Museums for an all-day salute to beloved children’s author and Springfield-native Theodor Seuss Geisel on his 118th birthday! Free with museum admission!
“We are overjoyed to celebrate with Dr. Seuss fans young and old on this very special day,” said Clarissa Leverich, Family Engagement Coordinator for the Springfield Museums. “This is a day to explore, be inventive, and discover your own sense of Seussian innovation!”
Visitors will have opportunities to meet costume characters of the Cat in the Hat as well as Thing 1 and Thing 2. “There is so much joy when children meet the Cat in the Hat or the Things,” said Larissa Murray, Director of Education. “Having a favorite book character come to life—and give you a high five—is just magical.”
As with all family programing at the Springfield Museums, Family Fun days like the annual Dr. Seuss Birthday celebration mix fun with learning. “Visitors will get opportunities to use their imaginations to design their own vehicles and create their own characters,” Leverich said. “We are excited to continue Dr. Seuss’s legacy of innovative thinking here in his hometown.”
Visitors can also celebrate in The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, the first and only museum devoted to Springfield native Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss! The fully bilingual (Spanish and English) first floor features family friendly, interactive exhibits exploring Dr. Seuss’s Springfield roots and providing opportunities to experiment with new sounds and vocabulary, play rhyming games, and invent stories–all in line with Geisel’s revolutionary role in changing how we learn to read—by making it FUN.
On the lower level, visitors can stop into The Cat’s Corner to engage in facilitated hands-on literacy activities. And on the second floor, which was curated by Geisel’s two stepdaughters and great nephew, visitors can see Geisel’s art studio and living room (with the furniture and art materials he actually used). The galleries also feature never before publicly displayed art, family photographs and letters, and the original Geisel Grove sign which used to hang in Forest Park. You can even find Theophrastus, the toy stuffed dog Ted Geisel’s mother gave to him when he was a boy in Springfield.
ONGOING ACTIVITIES
Meet the Cat in the Hat, 11 am-1 pm and 2-4 pm
Get a high five and take your photo with Dr. Seuss’s most iconic character!
Meet Thing 1 and Thing 2, 11 am-1 pm and 2-4 pm
Visit this mischievous pair and help them keep out of trouble!
Strolling Magic, 11 am-3 pm
Pete and Chris Amusements perform magic tricks and get brains working with their selection of puzzles and games.
Dr. Seuss Trivia, 11 am-3 pm
Spin the big wheel, answer a trivia question, and win a prize! Questions are appropriate for all ages.
Make a Wacky Vehicle, 11 am-3 pm
Use wiki sticks to create your own vehicle. It can be a car, a subway, or anything that you can imagine. Wiki sticks are waxed yarn that can be bent and shaped in any way you choose.
Create a Character, 11 am-3 pm
If you create a character, what kind of attributes will it have? Will it be silly, scary, smooth, or squishy? Combine Seussian elements to define, illustrate, and write a sentence about your own creation.
Collaborative Map of a Seussian City, 11 am-4 pm
Join artist Amy Reyor to create a huge map of Springfield! She will lay out roads, rivers, and railroads, and you can add whatever Seussian elements you think should be added to this city.
Please note that while the birthday activities will be open to all visitors, timed tickets for the Dr. Seuss Museum will sell-out fast–order advance tickets today!
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About The Springfield Museums
THE SPRINGFIELD MUSEUMS are located on the Quadrangle at 21 Edwards Street in the heart of downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. The nationally accredited and Smithsonian-affiliated consortium of museums includes the Springfield Science Museum, the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History, the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, and the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, the first and only museum dedicated to the beloved children’s book author and Springfield native.