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Date: 3/9/2021
SPRINGFIELD – A month-long celebration of Dr. Seuss at the Springfield Museums kicked off for Springfield-native Theodor Seuss Geisel on March 1. Geisel was born March 2, 1904, and every year the Springfield Museums celebrates Seuss, his birthday and his achievements in making reading fun for kids. The festivities will look different in 2021 due to COVID-19, but the party will still go on.
Before the pandemic, Dr. Seuss’s Birthday Party would draw one of the biggest crowds in a single day to the Springfield Museums. According to Jenny Powers, family engagement coordinator, the Museum would see upwards of 1,500 people in attendance. To keep the festivities safe, the family engagement team chose to spread the celebration out over an entire month.
“We know people love Dr. Seuss, we know that the birthday party is a big part of people’s annual traditions and so we didn’t want the year to go by without them having something special to celebrate,” said Powers.
On March 1, events kicked off with a virtual visit from Andrew Joyner, illustrator of Dr. Seuss’s Horse Museum. Joyner offered thoughts on being an illustrator and what it is like to draw Dr. Seuss characters. He also led drawing tutorials and shared thoughts about art with Maggie North, art curator for the Springfield Museums.
March 6 was a day of socially distanced celebration through the Museum’s Beep and Greet event. Families were able to drive through the parking lot adjacent to the Welcome Center and wave to Dr. Seuss characters.
Throughout the month, families are also invited to come to the Museum and participate in activities on their own. The Seussian Quest is one event geared toward children ages three to eight. Families can pick up a paper guide for clues which will lead them around the Seuss Museum and over to the Science Museum to find treasures such as hats, elephants, turtles and more. All participants will get their own set of colored pencils and a prize after completion of the quest, according to a Springfield Museums press release.
“It’s really important to me that this event be there for Springfield because we hope that the fact that Dr. Seuss was born in Springfield, grew up in Springfield and then went on to have such a successful career can be inspiring for kids who live in Springfield now,” said Powers.
Those interested in visiting the Museum are encouraged to buy tickets ahead of time at SpringfieldMuseums.org.
“We are open to the public, so anyone who wants to come down can do so,” said Laura Sutter, program coordinator at the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum.
The Museum will also be offering a “31 Books for 31 Days: Hats Off to Reading Book Giveaway” each day in March. Participants can share a message to the Museums about the book they read that day or their favorite Dr. Seuss Book. Entries can be dropped off in person or through the Springfield Museums social media.
“I just think it’s so exciting to see kids getting excited about reading. Really we celebrate Dr. Seuss because literacy is so important to education and to see so many smiling kids be excited about reading, that’s what I do my job for. That’s what I like the most about it,” said Sutter.
Despite the pandemic, the Springfield Museums have made sure that families can still celebrate Dr. Seuss and his legacy in a safe way.
“Every year Dr. Seuss’s birthday celebration is one of our biggest events and we will have a lot of visitors on campus. This year we’re not going to see as many visitors on campus, but we’re hoping that just as many, and maybe even more, will get a Seussian experience through our virtual programming,” said Sutter.
The Dr. Seuss Museum is located at the Springfield Museums at 21 Edwards St. in Springfield, and can be contacted at 263-6800.