Why am I writing about The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum on a blog dedicated to film and television travel? Because many movies have been made from Dr. Seuss books! And, more importantly, this is an awesome museum you should add to your list of things to see.

Here’s how I got here: Several of Dr. Seuss’ books were made into movies, including How the Grinch Stole Christmas, directed by Ron Howard and starring the insanely talented funnyman Jim Carrey (Anthony Hopkins narrated!). This is one of my favorite versions of this book and I think Jim Carrey is a genius as the Grinch. Go ahead and disagree, that’s okay! Then there’s The Cat in the Hat, a 2003 film starring Mike Myers. I love Myers and this film is cute, but it could have been much better. And of course, there are many animated movie versions of his books. That’s why I think this museum deserves a mention here.

I grew up reading Dr. Seuss books and then used them to teach my three children how to read. My son was obsessed with Dr. Seuss when he was a little boy and even as an adult was happy when he unexpectedly came across Seuss Landing at Universal Studios in Florida a few years back (it’s still there).

When I learned that the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum was only a two-hour road trip from where I live, I took a day off to go. My kids are grown and I thought it would for the most part cater to children — okay, it kind of does — but I thoroughly enjoyed it and felt like I walked into a Dr. Seuss book.

The little kid in me was enthralled with all of the details in the museum, including on the walls and the stairs. The mom in me was transported back to when my kids were little and we read those books every night. The writer in me was amazed at what Theodore Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, accomplished in his illustrious career. Let’s take a closer look at the museum:

Dr. Seuss Museum

The Dr. Seuss Museum is located in Springfield, Massachusetts. It’s in what’s called the Quadrangle of the Springfield Museums, which also includes the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden; the Springfield Science Museum; the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts; and the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History.

The great part is when you buy a ticket to one of those museums, it gives you access to ALL of them. The highest ticket price is $25.00 for an adult and it goes down from there depending on if you’re buying for a child or if you are a senior citizen or member of the military. That’s seriously a great deal for FIVE museums. And if you’re lucky enough to live in Springfield, your admission is free. Even better, they are all within walking distance of each other.

When I first arrived, the main parking lot outside of the visitors’ center (where you must start your visit for any of the museums) was full. There is ample parking on the street, BUT there are parking attendants who religiously drive and walk around with meters that clock when they see your car parked at that spot. Then, if your car is not moved two hours later, you can get a ticket. You can move it to a different spot and your two-hour allotment starts over, but the maximum time you can spend in one spot is two hours.

On the day I visited, I had a limited amount of time, otherwise I would have visited all of the museums. I only had time to visit the Dr. Seuss Museum and Garden. I would also like to thank the Dr. Seuss Museum for providing me with a guest pass to visit.

The cuteness of the museum starts as soon as you enter. The first floor which is fully bilingual (Spanish and English) features many family-friendly, interactive exhibits that center on new sounds and vocabulary, rhyming games, and storytelling.

The interactive stations include the Giant Marble Maze; The Seuss Bakery; Whoville with Ball Wall; and Light Wall, Lorax Recycle Game, and more. I watched so many kids and their parents enjoying the games and suddenly wished my kids were little again.

And the amount of selfies you could take!

The second floor was where I felt like I stepped into Dr. Seuss’ home office.

“The second floor, curated by Geisel’s two step daughters and great nephew, recreates Geisel’s studio and living room (with the furniture and art materials he actually used) and features 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.“

The writer in me was in absolute awe as I could picture him sitting in his chair writing his books, making up silly rhymes and creating his iconic characters. There was so much memorabilia and artifacts from his life, including drawings, letters he wrote to his fans, toys and games, his hat and bow tie collection and more.

The blue animals in the photo below were handmade by Dr. Seuss (more below the photos).

I learned that when he was a kid, his father was the superintendent of parks in Springfield and would often give him the antlers of deceased animals. I’m not quite sure what reaction I would have to be given that (yes I do), but the creative young lad turned them into characters!

There is one room where you cannot take photos. The memorabilia is private and while the family doesn’t mind that you’re looking at it, they don’t want it on the internet. PLEASE don’t be sneaky and try to take photos. And his awards:

Finally, outside is the Dr. Seuss Sculpture Garden, so don’t miss the photo ops here! Check these out:

There are so many more pictures I took, but you get the idea of how cool this Dr. Seuss Museum is. The museums are open Monday–Saturday: 10 am–5 pm and Sunday: 11 am–5 pm. Let me know if you go. I can tell you that the kid in me left there with a big smile on my face. And in the words of the man himself: