“In the great green room there was a telephone and a red balloon and a picture of...” For parents this opening line from Goodnight Moon brings visions of Clement Hurd’s illustrations to mind. After visiting The Discovery Museum in downtown Bangor you may see a different picture. Stepping into the great green room is surreal for parents and magical for the kids who love this story.
When you first walk in, the burnt orange toy house in the center of the room captures your interest. Standing about five feet high, six feet long and five feet wide, the house takes up a majority of the room. Peering through the windows brings to view the three little bears sitting on chairs. Children love to walk through the doorway made just for them and sit down next to the bears and read a book. Besi
de the house, on the wall, a velcro bulletin board is covered with mittens for kids to match.
Turn around and you see a bright orange headboard clashing with the walls that look as though they were painted with a green crayon. Green fabric covers the long rectangular cushion on a bench meant to be the bunny’s bed from the story. Centered above the bed is a perfect replication of Hurd’s picture of the three little bears sitting in chairs. To the left of the bed stands the quiet old lady’s rocking chair.
The back wall holds a kid sized fireplace, and adorning the mantle are copies of Goodnight Moon in English, Spanish, French, and German. Filling the fireplace are wooden building blocks, instead of logs, to give the children something else to play with while in this extraordinary ro
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