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All the United States Massachusetts Boston Make Way for Ducklings Statue

Make Way for Ducklings Statue

Mrs. Mallard and her brood are a beloved fixture in Boston Public Garden.

Boston, Massachusetts

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Kavya Ram Mohan
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Mrs Mallard and her entire brood.   theilr/CC BY-SA 2.0
They were installed there in 1987.   Charles Hoffman/CC BY-SA 2.0
Mrs Mallard looks to be a Bruins fan.   candyschwartz/CC BY 2.0
They keep with the seasons and are here dressed up for Christmas.   Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism/CC BY-ND 2.0
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Make Way for Ducklings statue - a good photo opportunity   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
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About

A family of nine—a mother and her eight offspring—have lived in Boston Public Garden for 30 years. They are the bronze statues of the "Mallard" family, from the 1941 classic children’s book Make Way For Ducklings, and they have been a family favorite in the park since their installation in 1987.

In the book, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard comes to Boston to look for a home and are excited by the beautiful Public Garden. But after seeing humans walking and cycling around fast, they deem it too dangerous for their soon-to-be-born ducklings. After the ducklings hatch, Mrs. Mallard teaches them to swim and watch out for themselves, and the family comes back to a tiny island in the garden's lagoon. 

The statues were designed by Nancy Schön and placed there “as a tribute to Robert McCloskey, whose story Make Way For Ducklings has made the Boston Public Garden familiar to children throughout the world,” as the plaque at the site reads. The entire brood—Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack—have taken up 35 feet on old Boston cobblestone in the park. The family is quite fashionable and is dressed up in seasonal costumes, or sports jerseys if the local teams are doing well.

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Literature Books Statues Parks Gardens Public Ducklings Animals Plants

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Kavya Ram Mohan

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Fred Cherrygarden, Jaszmina Szendrey, davinwhite, ickaimp...

  • Fred Cherrygarden
  • Jaszmina Szendrey
  • davinwhite
  • ickaimp
  • presentnow
  • Taterchips
  • stephaniejones590
  • MarilynR
  • cait7911
  • KimWhitehead
  • bsempowski
  • drwolff
  • Jason Michael Walker
  • MtnLady
  • MizzusK
  • Deniseg2266
  • Snuff

Published

June 13, 2017

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  • http://www.boston-discovery-guide.com/make-way-for-ducklings.html
  • http://www.schon.com/index.php
  • http://www.publicartboston.com/content/make-way-ducklings-duckling-sculpture
Make Way for Ducklings Statue
Boston Public Garden
Charles Street
Boston, Massachusetts
United States
42.355488, -71.069769
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