Our family decided to explore the Springfield museum quadrangle this past weekend. We took the two hour car ride down; excited to run around in the Dr. Seuss sculpture garden and peruse the different museums. As parents, we new that the sculpture garden would be a necessary accent to the museum experience. As interested in art and exploration as our children are at a young age, they still want to run & play for the bulk of the day. Just heading to a quiet and reserved art museum wouldn't be the best outing.
We arrived and quickly found the free parking lot that is steps from the central entrance where you purchase passes for ALL of the museums at one price. The entrance fee is a little steep, but they do offer an AAA discount and children under 2 are free. Since you buy your tickets in the Science Museum, we explored it first.
We started at the bottom level which is devoted to displays of aquatic life (real and fake) and to amphibians. Our kids loved this level! We had perfect timing and got to witness a Bearded Dragon being fed live crickets. One room had tons of drawers filled with fossils, skins, etc. that could be pulled out and examined. Jack would have happily stayed in this room all day just opening and shutting the drawers; nirvana for a 15 month old baby! The rest of the museum was devoted to old school stuffed animal exhibits and shiny gemstones that were enoyable to view. And before we left for our next spot, we picked up a few small items in the well stocked gift shop.
It was nearing an early lunch time at this point. Perfect timing to spill out into the sunshine and the Dr. Seuss sculpture garden. Or so we thought. The very first thing that caught our eye was a sign in the grass declaring "Please don't climb on the sculptures." Really? We didn't take this as a good omen. What sick mind creates a Dr. Seuss sculpture garden for families only to dictate that you can look but you can't touch? Since the grass was still damp, we sat on a rock patio that held The Lorax sculpture in the very middle. And as we snacked, we watched the crab-apple guard glaring at us to ensure we were keeping a good distance from the art. Sheesh!
After we snacked, we checked out the rest of the sculptures. All were quite lovely. The main piece had a wide bronze walkway down its middle. But were you allowed to walk upon it? Of course not. And do kids understand this rule? Of course not. The experience was absolutely muted by this ridiculous no climbing rule. Imagine if the much beloved Alice in Wonderland sculpture found within Central Park in NYC had such a rule! I have cherished memories of climbing all over that sculpture and having conversations with the various bronze characters as I touched the shiny metal.
"A favorite of children, the mushrooms and figures have become smooth and polished over the years as pint-sized feet have climbed over them to the top of this 11 foot structure while using their tiny fingers to grab hold of Alice’s hand or the Hare’s ears for support." - Central Park 2000 This is what we were looking forward to. This is the experience we drove down to have. It's not what we got.
Sculptures are inherently tactile, outdoor sculpture gardens even moreso. To set up a children's themed garden and then tell them not to touch it, made the trip very unsatisfying.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment