Theodor Seuss Geisel, or Dr. Seuss, has inspired and entertained hundreds of thousands of children throughout the years. The Dr. Seuss Experience seeks to bring his works to life by creating rooms filled with his mythical creatures and whimsical designs. For the first time EVER, I get to write this article from the perspective of a parent who took their child to this experience.
We took our son Walker, who just turned one in May, and he absolutely LOVED it. When you first walk into the exhibit hall, you think you may be in the wrong place–but trust me, wait for it. Once you proceed a little farther, you will start to see some copies of drawings and mounts of animals from the world of Dr. Seuss. You see large hanging banners of some of his most famous stories and a gift shop and a large rectangular white box. There are opportunities to take photos with the Lorax and The Cat in the Hat at different times outside the entrance to the box. After we had some photo ops and looked around a little bit, we went to the entrance of the mysterious box. (This is the part where you show your tickets). Once you enter the box, you are met with a large balloon maze in the center of the room. Do not worry, there are multiple ways out, and you can see through it if you get separated, or if your little one takes off through the walls of balloons like ours did! After you get a grasp on your surroundings, you will see that the maze is surrounded by other rooms which take you into the different books of Dr. Seuss.
We entered the Lorax room first with a strong reminder written on the wall. “I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.” After the entrance, you walk into a brightly colored room with tall fuzzy trees from the Lorax. There are even swings you can swing on, and it is a great place for photos.
After we finished all our photos and swinging, we continued onto the next room which was The Cat in the Hat. This room had A LOT going on (just like in the book)! There is an interactive Cat in the Hat that will talk and respond to you and your children. They have large boxes in the middle of the room that blow air and silk scarfs in the air. The atmosphere is chaotic, but it makes the book come to life.
The next room is based off “Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?” and is quite the showstopper. There are plenty of gears and activities to keep kids of all ages occupied! There are fans that levitate a ball and even a vacuum port that sucks in little fuzzy balls and shoots them out the top! The whole room looks as if it was pulled out of a cartoon factory!
The following room is based on “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket!” and is geared towards kids a little older than Walker. Do not get me wrong, Walker still had a blast, but could not appreciate the aspect the room is meant to bring. This room is designed like a hide-n-seek challenge. There are critters hiding all around the room and the goal is to find all of them. There are wozets in closets, waskets in baskets, zamps in lamps, and so much more!
Once we finished our hunt, we continued to my favorite room, “Horton Hears a Who!” You walk in the room and are shrunk down into a field of flowers that Horton found Who-ville. The flowers bend as you walk through them, and Walker had fun moving throughout them. It is plain and simple, but very pretty.
The next room shocked us, “If I Ran the Circus”. When you enter this room, there is a swing carousel! Walker got to ride, and we even saw some adults riding, too! I guess if I ran a circus, I would want to have fun while doing it!
After we finished the ride, we moved to the next room which is the classic, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Here, you are provided fishing poles that you must collect presents on. Walker and I had fun trying to hook the presents. For added difficulty for adults, just hold your child while trying to get a present. It undoubtedly made it harder with him squirming and moving the pole!
The final room is based on “The Sneetches”. It is a single-family exhibit where you go into a room and have to try to count all the sneetches, but there is a twist! The rooms walls are all mirrors, adding a bit of difficulty for younger children to count all of them!
Once we finished all the rooms, we may or may not have played in the maze a little more. When you exit, you are (of course) ushered through the gift shop, so parents, BE PREPARED! The good thing is they do have books and educational items, so it is not a total trap. If you decide to make the trip, make note that Discovery Green Park is right across the street. The Park boasts fountains, playgrounds, walking trails, a café, and more! For us, it topped off the perfect day!
The Dr. Seuss Experience is located at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Exhibit Hall A. The address is 1001 Avenida De Las Americas, Houston, TX 77010. This is a limited time event! It will only be here till August 15th, so make sure you act quickly if you are interested! You can purchase tickets online at www.experienceseuss.com and look at their FAQ. This is a great event for all Seuss lovers! If you do go, share your photos with us! You can tag Postcards Magazine on Facebook or email us at publisher@postcardslive.com.
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