Donation box

Did you know that the museum’s first official mascot was a seahorse?

 

Kurt Vonnegut Sr., father of acclaimed author Kurt Vonnegut Jr., was one of the first trustees of The Children’s Museum. Kurt Sr. was an architect and his interest in art led him to design Sidney the Seahorse, which served as the museum’s first logo and, later, mascot. A wooden seahorse sign hung above the museum’s first home, the Propylaeum carriage house, located at 14th and Delaware streets.

 

Why a seahorse? Well, Mr. Vonnegut was in charge of establishing a program of junior memberships and the museum’s board thought that membership buttons would be a fun way to attract children to join. One theory is that the unusual creature would pique children’s interest and make them curious about the museum. Since the fledgling museum originally had free admission, this box had coin slots in the nose and the base as the first means of collecting public donations!

 

Seahorse “Sid” wrote the following on the occasion of the museum’s 30th birthday: “Birthday year or not, we all know that there is always something unusual, something new, something different, and something exciting happening around the museum and not a one of us ever wants to miss it.”