Kid Friendly Tips for enjoying an Art Museum

We recently had the pleasure to attend The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb.html with our children. It is so important to me to expose our children to Art. I want my children to appreciate the beauty and perspective that only art can manifest. I can’t imagine a world without Art. The problem is an Art Museum isn’t meant for young kids. Young kids want to touch and Art is meant to be enjoyed with their eyes.

These are three easy ways you can amuse Young Children in an Art Museum while helping them learn to appreciate the art they are looking at.

The first is very easy and require little preparation on your part. How about an Art Hunt? The museum usually has a map with art pieces on it with image. Have your child or children try to locate those items and cross them off the paper.

The second requires a little preparation from you. You take a sheet of paper and label each line with a letter of the alphabet. The children need to find an artist or work of art that starts with each letter in the alphabet. You can see who achieves this goal first.

The third activity will require more preparation from you. On almost every Art Museum website there is an educational page. This is the educational page for the National Gallery of Art http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/education/teachers/teaching-packets.html The page will have teaching materials or fun facts. You will print these out and assign each child an artist to research. When you get to the museum the child will act as the guide telling everyone special facts about the art you are viewing.

The follow up to this wonderful day out is to ask each child what did they learn? Then they can then draw their favorite memory or replicate their favorite art item. It is important to keep children engaged in an Art Museum. You want them to appreciate art but you also want to make the day fun for them by creating a special way for them to enjoy the exhibits.