Will the “Dr. Seuss Experience” Be Boston’s Greatest Insta Background Ever?

The new exhibit is pink, fuzzy, and coming soon to a venue near you.

By Alyssa Vaughn· 8/28/2019, 3:11 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Kilburn Experiences, LLC

Put your wocket in your pocket and some socks on your fox: The whimsical world of Dr. Seuss is coming to life through a 15,000 square foot traveling exhibit, and it’s due to make a stop in Boston.

The “Dr. Seuss Experience,” set to debut in Toronto October 26, “will immerse visitors in some of the most iconic books by the beloved children’s writer,” according to the exhibit’s announcement. The “Seuss-tacular sensory spectacle” will feature nine different rooms, all based on the famed writer’s children’s books.

How do you replicate Dr. Seuss’s splashy illustrations in the real world? Through projectors, larger-than-life foliage, and lots and lots of pink. The central attraction of the Dr. Seuss Experience is a maze featuring thousands of suspended balloons based on Oh, The Places You’ll Go. Other attractions include a Lorax room decked out in fuzzy, sherbet-colored truffula trees, a Horton Hears a Who! room full of fuchsia clover, and an If I Ran the Circus tribute featuring a working carousel.

The exhibit will change in each city it visits. Rooms will turn over and honor a changing lineup of Dr. Seuss books, and a How the Grinch Stole Christmas room will make an appearance during the holidays.

“I wanted to explore the books and bring the characters to life in a new and engaging way,” says Susan Brandt, president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

It’s fitting that the Dr. Seuss Experience is making one of its first stops Massachusetts. The man behind the pseudonym, Theodor Geisel, was a Springfield native, and his hometown hosts a permanent museum and sculpture garden dedicated to his work.

And while he certainly didn’t know it when he was writing in the 1950s-70s, the world Dr. Seuss created is also a perfect match for the era of Instagram. Immersive, photo-friendly “experiences” have become ubiquitous in recent years. The Dr. Seuss Experience sounds a lot like Happy Place, the ball-pitted, rubber-ducked, cookie-scented pop-up that took over a former Marshall’s downtown this spring, or like New York City’s Color Factory, Rosé Mansion, Museum of Ice Cream, or Friends Pop-Up. While their themes vary, these “experiences”—dismissed as “selfie factories” by skeptics—all typically feature dynamic backgrounds, professional lighting, and steep price tags.

Pricing and dates for the Boston leg of the Dr. Seuss Experience have not yet been made public, so keep your eyes peeled for updates. Until then, check out the renderings below (and debate which will look best in your Insta grid).