Students celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday at MCM-Meridian
Published 12:46 pm Monday, February 27, 2023
- West Lauderdale High School Senior Jesse Mixon, who is dressed as Cat in the Hat, and fellow Stage 2 actor Daylon Horton, a senior from Northeast Lauderdale High School who is in costume as Horton the Elephant, greet Mississippi Children's Museum-Meridian visitors Raelynn Burrage, 5, right, and Zion Grace, 5, both of Meridian, during the "Dr. Seuss' Silly Birthday Celebration."
The Mississippi Children’s Museum-Meridian turned into the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss Saturday as scores of children gathered to celebrate the beloved author’s birthday.
“Dr. Seuss’ Silly Birthday Celebration,” which drew more than 900 guests to the museum, has evolved into one of the more fan favorite events hosted by the museum each year.
“This is our longest running annual event that we’ve held even before we had a physical museum,” said Rebecca Parker, assistant director of markeing and public relations for MCM-Meridian. “It is definitely one of our most popular and highly anticipated events of the year.”
Throughout the morning, animated youngsters with parents in tow hunted for clues on a Seuss-themed scavenger hunt, crafted truffula trees in the party room, played with ooey-gooey oobleck in the Wonderbox lab and played Gack’s garden games in the museum’s outdoor exhibit.
Several members of the Stage 2 youth acting troupe were on hand to greet children donned as some of Dr. Seuss’ most memorable characters, including the Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and Thing 2, the Lorax, Horton the Elephant and Sam-I-Am.
The Seuss-themed activities were set up alongside the museum’s regular indoor attractions and throughout the My Fantastical Backyard outdoor exhibit.
Guests arriving early to the event were treated to green eggs and ham bites. At noon, participants sung the birthday song in honor of Dr. Seuss and then enjoyed a piece of birthday cake.
Readings of some of Dr. Seuss’ most popular books were held throughout the day.
In addition, the Meridian Symphony Orchestra offered participants the chance to try their musical talents with a musical instrument petting zoo.
Children were able to pick out a free book to take home thanks to the Junior Auxiliary of Meridian’s Reading is Fundamental book giveaway and the Meridian Public Schools’ Wildcat Wagon.
Representatives from the Mississippi Early Childhood Association, Illuminations, Imagination Library, the Meridian Public Library and Excel by 5 also were on hand for the event.
Dr. Seuss was the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel, whose birthday is March 2. Born in 1904, Geisel wrote and illustrated more than 60 books as Dr. Seuss, including many of the most popular children’s books of all time.
