by columnist Kacie Rice, In the past few months I’ve become a bit obsessed with the American Museum of Natural History’s fantastic internet campaign celebrating the recent reopening of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial. Launched last fall, the museum’s new website includes an interactive timeline, a …
by columnist Madeline Karp I have dreams of wearing a big hoop skirt. I’m talking like a BIG, Scarlett O’Hara hoop skirt. Sometimes a corset, or a bustle; on occasion knee britches and a man’s coat from the Revolutionary War, but tailored to fit and …
Here’s our weekly round-up of our favorite things that were said about museums this week: the good, the bad, and the really quite strange!
But first, a sad piece of local news. The Higgins Armory Museum will close in December of this year. Their amazing staff, inventive programs, and fantastic collection have definitely captured the museum field’s imagination. So sorry to see this team broken up! Read more on the Boston Globe’s website.
The MFA’s Education department is offering a fantastic opportunity to learn and teach in the museum next year. They have put out a call for applicants to join their Gallery Talk Lecturers. It’s a great opportunity for masters students to get experience teaching in the galleries …
by columnist Cira Brown Last month, Artisan’s Asylum, a community craft studio in Somerville (and one of the largest in the world), held a weekend conference entitled, How To Build A MakerSpace. The “Make Movement” is borne out of the Do It Yourself philosophy, which …
by columnist Madeline Karp
For those of you not up on your children’s authors, this weekend marked the 99th birthday of beloved children’s author, poet and illustrator Theodor Geisel a.k.a. Dr. Seuss.
The Please Touch Museum celebrated by reading Dr. Seuss’s best-loved books at story time, by making Seuss-esque self-portraits with children in the art room, and by inviting the Cat in the Hat to come in for a meet and greet photo opportunity.
(Be it known: I am terrified of mascots. Many children were far braver than I when it came to approaching an 8-foot tall cat to pose for a photo.)
I think Dr. Seuss is one of those rare figures who unites people. I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone who outright hates How the Grinch Stole Christmas or Hop on Pop. Grandparents and children were both pumped about meeting the Cat in the Hat. Twenty-something babysitters cooed over If I Ran the Circus and older children begged for multiple re-reads of Horton Hears a Who.
All this makes me think that perhaps Mr. Geisel would be excellent fodder for a variety of museum exhibits. So here, in rhyme, are a few ways I think we could incorporate Dr. Seuss into unusual spaces, in an attempt to bring in a new or wider audience to the museum.
Art
With stylized faces and bold use of color
Dr. Seuss’s cartoons look unlike any others.
With a pen and some paper,
You’ll go through the museum
To re-draw classic portraits as Seuss would’ve seen ‘em.
Math
With poems there comes meter, and timing and rhymes
You could do your addition and maybe cosines,
But you still have to count syllables, iambs and verse
To make your math better, instead of much worse.
Science
We all know the Lorax, he spoke for the trees,
And showed us the downside to big industry.
We can use Dr. Seuss to teach kids about seeds,
Along with earth science and biology.
Since climate debates are happening now
Maybe Ole Dr. Seuss can show us all how
To care just a little, just like we were taught
To make our earth better by a whole awful lot.
Literacy
“I hate poetry!” young children declare
“I won’t read it, it’s boring, you can’t make me care!”
But with poems there comes reading
And spelling and rhyme
I assure you new readers will have a good time
Learning new words and big words
–They’ll turn on a dime!
They’ll love to read, and new poems they’ll pursue
Just like parents and teachers would want them to do.
For older readers, there is more to the story,
Dr. Seuss’s short poems were all allegory.
Re-read through your kids’ books
Like Horton and Grinch
And you’ll soon see some themes
That might make you flinch.
Which leads us to…
History
Dr. Seuss was a man with a good, strong opinion
He didn’t like Nazis, he rooted for women.
The Great Butter Battle told of the arms race
Yertle the Turtle? How Hitler saved face.
Capitalist Grinches, and pro-lifer Whos,
Seuss’s tales carefully – subtly – all spread the news,
That learning history is kind of the cool thing to do.
So you see, there are ways to put to good use,
The morals, the drawings, and words of good Seuss.
My friends in museums from far and from near,
Tell me in comments how you hold him dear!
**Dedicated to my own personal Seuss, Dr. Richard Bronson.