The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, the newest museum on the Quad, is devoted to Springfield native Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss! The 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.
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.
Campaign: Building a Better Quadrangle
For more than 150 years, the Springfield Museums have enriched the city of Springfield through outstanding collections, exhibitions and programs. Since opening in 1857, the Museums have transformed from a single facility into a vibrant, bustling campus with five distinct museum buildings. Today, the Museums are poised to transform once again.
Seuss in Springfield: Building a Better Quadrangle is a $7 million capital campaign that will enhance the Museums’ legacy and secure their position as one of the region’s most visited and valuable treasures.
The centerpiece of the campaign is the creation of The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, the only museum to honor the life and work of Springfield native, Theodor Seuss Geisel. The Museum will feature highly interactive experiences for children, with a strong focus on promoting literacy, as well as artwork, memorabilia, and furniture from Ted’s home studio.
“Where better to celebrate all things Seuss than in Springfield, the place where it all began?”
–Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, Ted Geisel’s step-daughter and sculptor of the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden
The Seuss in Springfield: Building a Better Quadrangle capital campaign will also transform the Springfield Museums by improving public access, programming capacity and the visitor experience. In addition, the campaign will support restoration work vital to the integrity and aesthetics of their historic buildings and the collections they house.
The capital campaign will not only enhance the Museums’ campus, but it will also have a positive impact on the city and the region, highlighting Springfield as a major tourist destination in Western Massachusetts.
Help the Springfield Museums honor Dr. Seuss and build a better Quadrangle. Your support of the Museums will reap long-lasting benefits for years to come.
Capital Campaign Committee
Cynthia Campbell, chair
Joseph Carvalho III
Janet Egelhofer
Sam Hanmer
Wayne Phaneuf
Mary Ellen Scott
David Starr
Lyman Wood
Our Goals
OPEN The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, the world’s first museum dedicated to the children’s author
EXPAND programming and educational resources to promote literacy
RENOVATE the roof & restore the front entrance of the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, expand the Welcome Center, and improve gallery seating and lighting.
OFFER major traveling exhibitions with a national and international profile
UPGRADE the website and expand use of digital technology in exhibition galleries, allowing visitors to access information and share their experiences via social media.