Page 21 - BusinessWest August 19, 2024

“The impact
of opening the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum really marked a transformative point for the Museums.”
In the one month it was open before the end of FY 2017, it helped balance that year’s budget, she went on, adding that there have been balanced budgets and even surpluses since, at a time when many museums have struggled to come back from COVID.
As for exposure, stories about the RMV offering a new license plate honoring Dr. Seuss and featuring the Cat in the Hat have appeared in news outlets across the country.
But the Seuss museum has done more than enhance visitorship, revenues, and the profile of the Springfield Museums, she went on. It has also helped to inspire a number of new programs to make the Museums more interactive, immersive, accessible, and family-friendly.
“We’ve been using the experience of
opening the Dr. Seuss museum and the
kind of family engagement that it engen-
dered, and spreading it out all over the
Quadrangle,” Simpson said, adding that
this has always been the case with the Springfield Science Museum (for which there are some intriguing new initiatives in various stag- es of development), but now extends to all corners of the museum complex.
“When we look at any of our museums, the work that we’re try- ing to do now is really about making them interactive, making them more participatory, and using the points of accessibility,” she went on, adding that Dr. Seuss has helped make the museums more accessible because he is a worldwide brand associated with fun. “People feel like there’s something to see and do when they’re here at the Museums.”
Cynthia Campbell, chair of the Museums’ board of directors and a 10-year member, agreed.
“The impact of opening the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Muse-
The Grinch’s Grotto is just one example of how leadership at the Museums is bringing more family-oriented, immersive experiences to its spaces.
um really marked a transformative point for the Museums,” she explained, noting that it has not only doubled overall attendance and led to other Seuss-related opportunities, from the license plate to to a growing Grinchmas celebration, but it has inspired efforts for more innovative and immersive exhibits and programs, includ- ing the ambitious upgrades to Dinosaur Hall, including an anima- tronic T-rex.
Dr. Mark Keroack, the recently retired president and CEO of Baystate Health and longtime Museums board member, concurred.

to a glass act!

A memorable event to benefit the Springfield Museums Thursday, October 24 • 5:30-8:30 pm
Join us for the perfect pairing of master glass artists Louis Comfort Tiffany and Josh Simpson at the Michele & Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts.
Enjoy a unique art auction and a guided tasting of fine wines with wine expert Susan Beaudry amid the special exhibitions Tiffany Gardens in Glass and Guilded Echoes: The Tiffany Influence in Josh Simpson’s Glasswork.
ART • HISTORY • SCIENCE • SEUSS IN SPRINGFIELD
413-314-6458 • SpringfieldMuseums.org/CHEERS •
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