Oh, you should go to the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden

Reprinted from New England Mamas

(This review is written by my sister, Mrs Q, who will slowly be sucked into the blogging world, mark my words. Until then, please enjoy this review she so graciously agreed to provide for your reading enjoyment):

On a recent trek to Western Massachusetts, my family made a pit stop at the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden. Located in the gardens in and about the Springfield Museums (the "quadrangle" as us locals used to call it), this larger-than-life collection of sculptures bears tribute to the late Theodor Seuss Geisel, who was born and raised in Springfield.

Seuss' step-daughter, Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, created the bronze sculptures of Dr. Seuss' favorite characters -- the Cat in the Hat, Yertle the Turtle, the Grinch and the Lorax -- even the author himself. My two "things" especially enjoyed the massive sculpture of story time characters springing from an open book, including Thing One and Thing Two, Horton the Elephant and Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose.

The surrounding gardens are lush and invite visitors to walk around or linger and enjoy a brown-bagged lunch on one of the many park benches (in fact, much to the delight of my son, one bench includes a bronzed forgotten lunch bag and parcel of groceries). Unfortunately, most sculptures include "do not climb" signs around them (for obvious reasons), but there's a wonderful photo op on a large chair among the open pages of a ten-foot-tall copy of "Oh, the Places You'll Go!"
(Beware of "oh, the places you'll burn" when sitting on a bronze chair in the summer sun.)

The sculpture garden is free to the public, and free parking is located in an adjacent lot. The garden is ringed with the Springfield Library and a number of art, history and science museums; a nominal admission fee includes all four museums. Some picnic tables are located under a large tent near the parking lot.

The garden is relatively small, so I'm not sure I could recommend it as its own field trip. However, if you are driving through the Springfield area anyway (say, for a trip to Six Flags or, um, gulp, a 20th high school reunion), this makes a nice place for young kids to run off some energy. It's alovely way to bring beloved books to life and remember the gifted mind behind some of the most imaginative stories ever told. As you make your way out, make sure to look up and enjoy the tumbling tower of top hats that reach up to the sky.

Dr. Seuss would be proud.