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Dr. Seuss Touring Sculpture Garden Debuts On Earth Day At The Hotel Del Coronado
by Elizabeth Guiten

Teacher Libby Patrick, with her first-grade class from Village Elementary School, at the Earth Day debut of the Dr. Seuss sculpture garden. Photo by West Baldwin

In a garden, under the sun and next to the sea, the setting couldn't have been more appropriate for the April 22, Earth Day debut of the Dr. Seuss touring sculpture garden on the Windsor Lawn of the Hotel del Coronado.

Dozens of first through third graders from Village and Silver Strand elementary schools sat down and listened as hotel general manager Todd Shallan, mayor Casey Tanaka and Bill Dreyer, curator of the Dr. Seuss art collection, discussed conservation and environmentalism, concluding with a reading of Seuss' “The Lorax.”

“Going green affects the young,” Shallan said gesturing to the seated students in his opening address to the parents and adults gathered for the garden's grand opening. “It's going to take an all hands effort to preserve our natural resources,” he said.

Tanaka took the podium next and told the children a story he read concerning environmentalism in Australia. “Their rivers were drying up which was a big problem because the rivers are home to lots of frogs.”

Tanaka continued, saying that scientists responded by collecting as many frogs as they could before the rivers went dry and housing them until rain refilled their riverbed homes. Once the rivers were full again, the frogs were reintroduced into the area.

“What is really special about the whole thing is that the scientists reintroduced the frogs with the help of kids just like you. Why do you think that was?” he asked. “They knew that involving kids in the process would teach them about the importance of conservation and caring for the environment around them. Conservation won't work if kids like you don't get involved.”

Next up was Dreyer, on behalf of Chase Group, which operates as exclusive publishers of the art of Dr. Seuss. He asked the children their favorite Seuss character. “The Loooooraaaax!” shouted a chorus of young voices.

“You guys have been well coached by your teachers,” Dreyer said, laughing with the rest of the crowd. “What are your other favorite Seuss characters?” he asked. ‘Thing 1 and Thing 2!” yelled one boy, followed by several more in favor of “The Cat in the Hat.”

“We read “The Lorax” in class not too long ago and have been learning about recycling in our classroom,” said Libby Patrick, first-grade teacher from Village Elementary. “It was an honor to be invited by the Hotel Del to come share this experience with them. The kids have been in the Earth Day spirit for a while. We recycle everything we use in class and wrote some Earth Day-specific acrostic poems. It's been really fun,” she said.

Dreyer told the group that at the time “The Lorax” was written in 1971, it was “heralded as the first book to encourage conservation for the young,” he said. “What are some things you can do?” he asked the children.

“Recycle with your parents,” responded one.

“Don't litter,” replied another.

“Always brush your teeth,” a little boy concluded.

“That's sound advice for any day, much less Earth Day,” Dreyer said with a chuckle, “and a very good way to make sure your own personal environment is clean.”

Children and adults alike wrote pledges to protect the environment and promote conservation following his presentation and hung them on a specially-made Truffula Tree, from “The Lorax” book. Punch and cookies, baked to resemble Seuss food items like green eggs and red fish were there for the taking after the close of the ceremony, with a “Cat in the Hat” character available for photo opportunities.

The sculpture garden will continue on, touring the world but ,“debuting the Dr. Seuss sculpture garden here wasn't a difficult decision,” Dreyer said. “Theodor Geisel very much loved the whimsical nature of the Hotel del Coronado. Not many people know this, but he made a painting recently released from his secret art collection, titled, ‘I Dream I was a Doorman at the Hotel del Coronado.'”

Dreyer said that he believes the sculpture garden will allow the public to interact with the art of Dr. Seuss in a new way. “His legacy as an artist is lesser known. This collection introduces Seuss, the artist and is a tribute to his work and accomplishments. His imprint on society and pop culture is undeniable and we're pleased to be able to share another aspect of it,” he said.

The Dr. Seuss touring sculpture garden opened to the public April 25 and will be available for viewing at the Hotel Del until May 20. For more information about the art of Dr. Seuss, go to www.drseussart.com.

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