Children's Museum Trip

Exciting programs, tours, and kid-focused innovations help engage kids in the art so a visit to the museum is now fun for everyone.

Family Programs & Events

Call ahead or check the Web site at the museum for information about special family and kids activities that might be taking place during your visit. And keep in mind that some events and activities may require reservations.

Sign up for newsletters in advance of your trip to be notified of events for families like concerts, kid-focused exhibits, and guided tours for families.

New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art has numerous events for kids throughout the year, including workshops and hands-on art-exploration activities.

The Art Institute of Chicago has Family Days scheduled throughout the year--often during holidays--filled with workshops, storytelling, games, puppet shows, and other performances for kids. The Getty Museum in Los Angeles has a family room, where kids take part in art-making activities. At the Family Forum, kids can step into an ancient vase, decorate vases, and sink their hands into some clay.

The Art Institute of Chicago also offers gallery walks throughout the year for families with kids as young as 6 years old and their popular Mini Masters program is open to kids ages 3-5, with an adult. The Denver Art Museum has a Kids Corner and Just for Fun Family Center.

The Getty Museum hosts performances for families and kids throughout the year as does the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, which typically coincide with school holidays.

Online Art Exploration

Before heading to the museum, let your kids explore it online. Some museums have Web sites specifically for kids. Check out:

The Denver Art Museum's Wacky Kids site

The National Gallery of Art's NGA Kids site

New York's Museum of Modern Art's Art Safari

Kid-Friendly Features

The Art Institute of Chicago has a mascot, Artie the Lion, who comes out on Family Days to answer kids' (and parents') questions about the museum and exhibits.

The Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh has a free audio guide for children narrated by their art mascot, Art Cat.

The Denver Art Museum offers kids Family Backpacks or Art Tubes full of games and art-based crafts. Similarly, the Getty Museum offers kids art detective cards, and the de Young Museum in San Francisco, offers kids 4-12 free Viewing and Doing art activities most Saturdays (check calendar to confirm class).

Many other museums now offer audio guides for families, family or kids maps, and even podcasts. Check the museum's Web site in advance of your trip.

Some museums also offer free strollers and bathrooms with changing stations. Call in advance to find out.

You can call ahead or check the museum's Web site to find out if there is a café and if kid-friendly fare (and parent-friendly pricing) is on the menu.

Read All About It!

Get kids excited about the things you will see at the museum by reading books about art. A few top preschooler picks include:

You Can't Take a Balloon Into the Museum of Fine Arts, by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman

Squeaking of Art: The Mice Go to the Museum, by Monica Wellington

Visiting the Art Museum, by Laurene Krasny Brown and Marc Tolen Brown.

Explore on Your Own

Help your child pick out a half-dozen art postcards at the gift shop (or download pictures from the museum's Web site), then launch a scavenger hunt to find the real items.

Select a theme--such as fruit, horses, or children--and wander through the galleries playing I Spy.

If there is a painting or sculpture with an unusual story behind it, such as an allegory, or a religious story, or an ancient myth, tell your child the story in advance and, when you find the painting or sculpture, talk about it again and ask kids questions about the story.

Preview the art gallery collections in advance, and put together a list of unusual objects that might appeal to your child--a horse, a dog with a blue collar, a doll--and check off each one as you and your child find it.

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