Step Inside the Magical World Of Dr. Seuss

Nina Naqvi is an Architect by training and currently works at the City of Toronto. She is a published children’s book author and the creator of the bestselling ‘Countdown to Eid kit’, sold by her small business, ‘Craft it Kit’. Nina’s column for Libas Now will focus on children’s activities as well as places and experiences in her hometown of Toronto that inspire creativity. First up is her account of the sold out and highly popular Dr. Seuss Experience!

I grew up reading Dr. Seuss books. His iconic illustrations, the imaginative stories and the rhyming limericks, all made for fantastical books!

To this day, Dr. Seuss books are well loved by kids of all ages. His more popular books include The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, The Lorax, Fox in Socks and Oh, the Places You’ll Go! to name a few.

I introduced his books to my children, now 7 and 3 years old, when they were younger and although their love for him may not run as deep as mine, I knew we had to take them to the Dr. Seuss Experience in Toronto. The exhibit opened in late October and was originally scheduled to run until January 5, 2020 which has been extended to March 22, 2020 due to high demand and sold out timeslots.

The Dr. Seuss Experience exhibition in Toronto is now on till March due to high demand and sold out timeslots

The exhibit is laid out around one central ‘courtyard’ that has thousands of balloons (which reference his book Oh, the Places You’ll Go!). Several other rooms are located along the periphery, each paying homage to one of his books. The first room we stepped into was inspired by The Cat in the Hat, and I felt like I had walked into Dr. Seuss’ magical world. The space was so creative and colourful! Our children were in awe and wanted to explore everything.

The exhibit included various interactive displays, immersive experiences and great opportunities for pictures. There was even an adorable carousel for the kids to sit in and take a ride. They got to fish for presents in the How the Grinch Stole Christmas! inspired room and tested out the whacky, imaginative machine called the ‘Throm-dim-bu-lator’ from the book Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?.

I felt like I had walked into Dr. Seuss’ magical world – the space was so creative and colourful! Our children were in awe and wanted to explore everything.

One of my favourites was a whimsical room, inspired by the book There’s a Wocket in my Pocket!, with a big ‘Bofa on the Sofa’. There were opportunities for the kids to explore and search for hidden creatures and take pictures on the sofa with the large scale Bofa, which is a large, yellow Seuss creature who likes to read on the sofa and eat grapes.

If you live in Toronto, or will be here for a visit, I encourage you to take your kids and visit the Dr. Seuss Experience in Mississauga. We had a terrific time and thoroughly enjoyed it!

One of my favourites was a whimsical room, inspired by the book There’s a Wocket in my Pocket!, with a big ‘Bofa on the Sofa’