Step into ‘Land of Sugar & Seuss’ at Springfield Museums

This year, the Springfield Museums’ celebration of Grinchmas will be a campus-wide event.

Last year, The Grinch’s Grotto in the Wood Museum of Springfield History opened for the first time. “When planning for this year, we decided having a Dr. Seuss theme in the gingerbread exhibit would pair well with the Grotto and make the Springfield Museums’ celebration of Grinchmas a campus-wide event,” said Larissa M. Murray, director of education.

“Gingerbread: In the Land of Sugar & Seuss” is on exhibit Nov. 24 to Dec. 31 at the Springfield Science Museum’s Changing Exhibits Gallery.

The gallery has been transformed into the colorful and whimsical world of Dr. Seuss. Visitors will find areas celebrating many of their favorite characters — the Grinch, Cat in the Hat, Horton and the Lorax among others — as well as a library of oversized Dr. Seuss books.

The exhibit will feature more than 40 gingerbread displays. “Many people are highlighting more than one Seussian story, and some plan to transport familiar characters into a winter wonderland setting,” Murray said. Several entries will focus on The Lorax, while other people have decided to go with more of a traditional holiday gingerbread theme.

The displays range from 12-by-12 to 36-by-36 inches.

“Each year, I am so impressed with the creativity of our participants,” Murray enthused. “Their clever designs and creative ingredient ideas always wow me.”

All that gingerbread makes the exhibit’s aroma “absolutely wonderful,” she added. “We do not add any additional scents in the room; the aroma of the spices comes completely from the gingerbread displays.”

For many visitors, seeing the gingerbread exhibit has become a holiday tradition. “It’s a fun way to get into the spirit of the season, and the changing theme and gallery decorations make it a completely new experience each time,” she said.

Many of first-time participants note on their registration form that they visited the exhibit the previous year and decided to try creating a display themselves.

This is the 14th annual gingerbread exhibit; the first one opened in November 2010. Previous themes have included Gingerbread Fairy Tales, Gingerbread in Space, Gingerbread in Wonderland (Alice in Wonderland) and Gingerbread Under the Sea.

Visitors can vote for their favorite gingerbread creation using an online ballot accessed by a QR code in the exhibit gallery. The results of the popular vote will be announced in mid-January.

All participants receive a gift and museum passes when they deliver their gingerbread displays.

For more information and a full listing of Holiday Grinchmas events and activities, visit the Springfield Museums’ website.

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