Victoria Starbuck
       Staff Writer

From Dec. 1 to Jan. 3, Greensboro Historical Museum, located in downtown Greensboro, invited visitors to join in the Mousetastical Mouse Hunt. Clad in winter coats, hats and scarves, 50 felted mice hid among the various exhibits housed by the museum.

As visitors searched high and low for whiskers and tales, they began to soak in the history exhibits surrounding the tiny creatures.

While visitors wound through the museum, they discovered mice in a variety of places. One mouse relaxed on the courthouse clock hand and two mice attempted to catch the trolley.

Others hung around the Bicentennial Torch, which was used in Greensboro’s 2008 Torch Relay, the kickoff event for Greensboro’s Bicentennial celebration.

The Mousetastical, “Keeps [visitors’] interest and keeps them moving through the museum and learning,” noted Susan Joyce Webster, Registrar and Curator of Costumes and Textiles at the museum.

While some of the visitors to the museum during this holiday season may have been intimidated by the sound of a history lesson, the felted mice were able to show these visitors that history can be fun too.

The Mouse Hunt gave visitors, especially those of a younger age, an opportunity to play with the past. Children walked briskly from case to case hoping to catch a glimpse of a furry friend. Once they caught sight of one of the felted mice, the exuberant children would tug on the sleeves of their parents out of sheer delight.

The Mousetastical allowed parents to segue to the learning aspect of the museum. Webster heard, “Parents help the children [search for mice] and then start to talk about the train somewhere near.”

The mice sparked conversation about particular aspects of Greensboro’s history because of the proximity of the mice to a specific exhibition piece.

In previous years, Greensboro Historical Museum has used scavenger hunts as a way to draw families with younger children to explore the past of the city they call home.

The Mousetastical came to fruition after Webster and other museum staffers began to plan a scavenger hunt that could become a holiday tradition for families.

Webster, as well as other museum staff, hope that the recurring Mousetastical will give families a fun opportunity to venture out of the house between holiday meals.

In its premiere year, this month-long scavenger hunt aimed to draw in a larger number of visitors during one of the museum’s peak seasons. “We’re free so we’re always looking for ways to bring in new families and visitors,” Webster said.

The museum tends towards a larger influx of visitors during the holiday seasons and the Mousetastical advertisements aided in drawing families with children.

When it came to scattering the mice throughout the museum, Webster made sure the creatures settled into locations that were visible to children. She placed the mice near “practical things first, then started to look where it may be fun,” such as in a shoe.

Webster referred to the Mousetastical as, “An opportunity to have some fun and learn.” With this strategy in mind, she placed the mice in visible locations that were also amusing. With the theme of family fun in mind, Webster “Didn’t put mice where topics were more sensitive, like on a gun.” 

In addition to the Mouse Hunt, the Mousetastical provided children with the supplies to create their own candy cane mice. “It’s always about the children,” said Webster.

The “create your own edible mouse” segment of the Mousetastical provided children with a much-enjoyed hands-on activity. Children were also able to remember their visit to the Greensboro Historical Museum, at least until the candy cane mice were eaten. 

While the felt mice have gone into hibernation for the remainder of this season, they have plans to reemerge next winter to help guide visitors through the museum.