Young Ted in Springfield

Children playing in McElligot's Pool

By stepping onto the porch and through the front door of the Fairfield Street house, visitors enter “Young Ted in Springfield.” This section of the exhibit explores areas of significance to Ted and his family in Springfield, and also delves into family roles and relationships. The space is comprised of five large interactive areas:

  • The City of Springfield offered many opportunities for imagination, from the curving steps of the Barney Mausoleum to the castle-like turrets of the Howard Street Armory. This introductory room helps visitors see Springfield during the time Ted was growing up with images from the early 1900s. A new maze game helps visitors learn about some of the places Ted used to visit as a child in Springfield.
  • A replica of Ted’s childhood home, 74 Fairfield Street, includes a touchscreen where visitors can “draw” on the bedroom walls as Ted famously did as a child. Unlike many mothers, Ted’s mom was delighted by his whimsical crayoned animals, and encouraged him to draw more!
  • In the Seuss Bakery, children can role-play in a bakery similar to the one that Ted’s maternal grandparents ran on Howard Street. Children can pretend to bake their own pies using food ingredients and ovens, or pretend to take orders and sell pies using a cash register. Recipe cards are available in Spanish and in English.
  • At The Fishing Pool, inspired by McElligot’s Pool (1947), children can play a digital fishing game surrounded by the multicolored fish from Ted’s famous book as they learn about how Ted and his father enjoyed fishing when he was growing up in Springfield.
  • The Moose Juice and Goose Juice Brewery with its whimsical piping and artisan glass displays the fascination of conveyor belt production. Ted’s family co-owned a brewery called Kalmbach and Geisel until prohibition. In this area, children have an opportunity to play with light, sound, gears and gadgets as they explore a factory-like setting. Inside the structure, the Moose Juice and Goose Juice from Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book (1962) is bottled before their eyes.
  • In the Forest Park ZooIf I Ran the Zoo (1950), children play inside a replica Springfield’s Zoo in Forest Park once supervised by Ted’s father. The fantastical characters from the fictional McGrew Zoo peek out the windows and inhabit the play area, serving as benches for families as children construct their own wild animals using LEGO blocks and tangrams.

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