10 Tips for Taking Children to the Art Museum



Viewing a photography exhibit of Ron Rosenstock
at the Worcester Art Museum



Growing up, my sister and I were frequently brought to art museum exhibits.  I still remember trips to Boston and Philadelphia.  I love art history, and want my kids to have positive experiences of going to the museum.  There is so much you can learn about history and other cultures through the art made by different people.  Many pieces can inspire my little ones to go home and dabble in their paints and play dough. 



Earlier this summer we took my five year old to the Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts.  There was an exhibit of photography that we thought he would like since he loves taking snapshots with his own little digital camera. 



The idea of bringing a child into an art museum can be daunting.  It’s a place that is mostly quiet, sometimes silent, where no snacks are allowed, nothing can be touched, and there’s lots of open space where you cannot run!  But, I have ventured out with my little ones and have comprised a list of ten tips I have found to be helpful.  I am sharing them with you in hopes that it will make your trip to the art museum, with children, a successful one.

1. Hone into your child's interest.  Finding an exhibit that taps into to your child’s interests will help them be more likely to engage in the exhibit.  They will be less likely to be bored and more likely to make connections with their life experience if it’s something they’ve read about or learned about in school.



2. Do your homework.  There may be special galleries at the museum geared toward younger patrons or hours set aside where children are especially welcome.  It’s always good to check out their website to double check their hours of operation, where to park, and other important information before you venture out.

Medieval architecture, originally from the
Benedictine Priory of Saint John in France. 

3. Take advantage of summer time specials and reciprocal memberships.  If you are visiting another city, check to see if your membership at a museum in your hometown is accepted at other museums.  Many museums accept memberships from other museums that are accredited by the same organizations.  We happened to be at the Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts where they have free general admission for the months of July and August.  Take advantage of any specials that are available.  They are offering these because they want you to come!

4. Explain what the museum will be like and how you expect your child to act.  Before the day of the trip to the museum be sure and explain what the museum will be like.  I try to emphasize that there will be other people looking at the art and it is important to be respectful so they don’t disturb anyone.  In most cases learning to act respectful is the best way to avoid embarrassing behavior.  I also try to spin it so I’m not giving a list of rules and things they cannot do, but rather things they need to do, like be quiet, have walking feet, and keep their hands to themselves (rather than saying: no yelling, no running, no touching).  And explain why: just like at the library people are thinking and reading and you will break their concentration if you are too loud, you could knock someone or something down if you run, your fingers will leave damaging oils on the artwork if you touch it, and probably set off an alarm.

5. Engage in conversation with your kids and bond with them.  Talk about what you like about a piece of artwork: the colors, the subject, the way the light and shadows look.  You don’t have to know a lot about the art, just tell them your gut feeling about what makes it interesting to you.  Point out how incredibly old something is or what part of the world it comes from. 

6. Make it fun!  I like to stand in front of a wall of artwork or in the center of the gallery and on the count of three have my family (discretely) point at their favorite piece.  It’s fun to see who likes the same piece or find out how different your taste is.  Older kids might enjoy doing a scavenger hunt.  One that doesn’t require a lot of planning on your part is to give them a piece of paper with the alphabet on it and have them fill in names of artists, titles, art movements, countries etc that they find during their journey through the exhibit.  Reward them with a quarter for every letter they fill in and let them buy a small souvenir or some postcards in the gift shop on your way out.

7. Take advantage of kid friendly amenities that the museum offers.  If there is a hands-on gallery, you want to know about it.  If there is a headset tour geared towards kids, they might enjoy it more than reading plaques on the wall.  Check their website and ask the front desk what they might recommend for your little one.



8.  Let your child set the pace.  Just because you want to linger in your favorite gallery doesn’t mean they will.  If you are truly there to give your child a positive experience let them move from piece to piece when they want to. 



9. Leave the museum with your child wanting more.  Dragging them through an entire museum to get your money’s worth or because you’ve planned to be there for the day can be too much for your child.  Pay attention to them and leave before they are overly exhausted and hungry.



10.  Pack a snack for the walk back to the car or ride home.  Just because snacks aren’t permitted in the museum doesn’t mean you can’t keep a secret snack that you bring out as you leave the building. (By secret I mean: don’t tell your child you have a snack or they will whine for it before you can actually give it to them.) Having something to munch on helps tired legs and feet make it back to the car without a piggy back ride and makes the ride home more pleasant too.  Oh, and pack a snack for yourself too.

What things do you do to make visits to a museum more successful and enjoyable for you and your children?



Literary Lunch: Blueberries for Sal

One thing I look forward to each summer is taking my boys blueberry picking.  I value the experience of bringing them to any fruit farm or orchard where they can take part in harvesting the crop, making the connection that our food comes from the earth, not the grocery store.  The pride my son has over his hard work is evident as he passes his bucket around our group for us to feel how heavy it is.  My guys are lucky to have grandparents who live next door to a pick-your-own blueberry farm (Berries & Blooms in Holden, MA) where kids are welcome.  Once we’ve lugged our buckets home we feast on a blueberry pancake lunch, make a fresh blueberry pie or just gobble up the sweet juicy berries leaving finger tips and mouths stained a lovely shade of purple. 

Blueberries are a particular favorite because of a beloved childhood book of mine “Blueberries for Sal”  by Robert McCloskey.  It’s the perfect book to share before or after an excursion to the blueberry patch and here is a recipe for making a simple and tasty treat: Sal’s Blueberry Hill.

Sal's Blueberry Hill

Ingredients:
2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
2 Tb grape jam
1 Tb cornstarch
Ice cream
animal crackers (bears)

Directions:

1.       Heat berries in a small saucepan over medium heat. 

2.       Once they have defrosted and juices are flowing and warmed, add the jam and cornstarch.

3.       Stir constantly as the mixture comes to a simmer and thickens. Remove from heat and allow it to cool slightly.

4.       Spoon over a scoop of ice cream and top with bear animal crackers.

That's a Wrap! Creative Gift Wrapping Solutions



Hand felted wool flower pins and hair clips are availble at
my etsy store: http://www.bybrookye.etsy.com/



I have always been fond of creative gift wrap.  Even before being green was the trend, I loved it when people wrapped a gift in the comics section of the newspaper.  Now you can buy cloth gift wrap, based on the traditional Japanese furoshiki wrapping cloth, which can be used over and over.  Baby shower gifts are wrapped in baby blankets and in most homes you can find a stash of reusable gift bags and tissue paper.  When considering the gifts I give my kids, who are still little ones who put everything in their mouth, I am skeptical of the shiny colorful papers laden with heavy metal dyes and chemicals.  Plus the gift wrap is ripped through in seconds and since it is unable to be recycled it is destined for plastic garbage bags headed for landfills where they will sit. 

When wrapping a gift for our latest birthday celebration I decided to reach for my new favorite wrapping: white butcher paper.  It can be decorated by my son with stamps or markers and recycled after the festivities are over.  This day I decided to dress it up with a lime green headband and one of my hand felted pink flower pins.  Since I am raising two boys I love having the opportunity to make something pretty and girly!  When the birthday girl opened her gift from us her mom put the flower headband on her and she happily wore it for the remainder of the party.  I love that the decoration on the package was pretty, environmentally friendly and multifunctional.

What’s your favorite creative gift wrapping solution?

Literary Lunches: Mortimer’s First Garden – Sweet Sunflowers

Mortimer's First Garden by Karma Wilson, is a great book to read in the springtime!  Mortimer, a little mouse, learns about the miracle of God’s creation through a little sunflower seed.  He finds out that with a little sunlight, water and a lot of patience something amazing transforms his one seed into many, enough to have some to share with a friend!  My boys and I read this book and then enjoyed these tasty, sweet sunflowers.    



the day I photographed these we threw on some cheerios too
but they are not necessary



Ingredients:
mini bagel
peanut butter
banana
raisins
honey

Directions:

1.       Spread peanut butter on the mini bagel. 

2.       Slice the banana lengthwise and then into coins to create semicircles for the petals that are then arranged around the edge of the bagel (hanging half over the edge).

3.       Fill the center of the circle with raisins.

4.       Top it off with a swirl of sweet honey and enjoy with a cold glass of milk.

Upcycled Sewing: Blue Jean Apron

This is an easy sewing project and a great way to transform an old pair of blue jeans into something new and useful.  My son loves to reuse things so this is right up his alley.  I first made these when I had just started teaching art.  The kids loved wearing them.  The heaviness is great for working with really messy materials.  I made a whole slew of them for my students and hung them on peg racks on the wall of my classroom.  They were both decorative and functional! 

You can make two aprons from one pair of jeans.  The leg becomes the length of the apron and the back pocket becomes the bib.  I’ve tried lots of different things for straps and my favorite is gross grain ribbon.  Once the apron is put together kids can also enjoy turning this blank canvas into personalized apparel by painting their own unique design on the bib if they’d like. 

Materials:
Old pair of blue jeans
A good pair of scissors
thread
1” gross grain ribbon
pins
sewing machine
fabric paints (optional)

Directions:

1.       Cut off one leg of the jeans (as if you were making short cut off shorts.)

2.       Cut the seam between the two back pockets and the seam long the side of the hip for the bib.

3.       Cut along the seam down the pant leg you already cut off.

4.       Trim the panel from the pant leg from the top, raw edge so it is an appropriate length for the person who will be wearing the apron. (The hem that used to fall at the ankle will become the bottom edge of the apron.)

5.       Clean up the edges where the bib and apron will meet so they line up.

6.       Hem the top raw edge of the pant leg by foldint it twice and sew it into place. 

7.       Place the bib in the center of the top of the leg panel with the pant leg overlapping the bib by about an inch.  And sew straight across the layers.

8.       Cut a piece of ribbon to fit around the waist of the person who will be wearing the apron plus some for tying. To determine the length of ribbon for the waist I measure their waist and add 40 inches (20 for each side of the apron).  This leaves plenty of room to tie a bow and room to grow.  Sew this ribbon across the waist covering the seam you made between the bib and the length of the apron.

9.        Cut two ribbons for the top of the apron bib.  I use 26 inches of ribbon at each corner of the top of the bib and tie it to fit so I can loop the apron over my head and it fits nicely.  Then it can be hung when not in use and doesn’t need to be retied each time I wear it.  I cut 20 inches for a child’s apron.  Sew them in place.

10.   Cut the ends of your ribbons at an angle to prevent them from unraveling.

11.   Decorate your bib as you choose to make it uniquely yours!

Photography Walk

My husband and I have given our preschooler our old digital camera.  We came across it while looking for items for a yard sale and since it is over ten years old we decided that instead of selling it for $5, we’d outfit it with a neck strap and hand it over to our preschooler.  It is pretty fun to see pictures he takes from around our house from his point of view.  He takes pictures of things that are important to him and that he finds interesting.





from our flamingo tour



Now that warm spring-like weather has arrived, we’ve been able to break out the sit- and-stand stroller and take the boys for walks in our neighborhood.  One of the fun things to do with my little budding photographer is to go on a photo walk.  Sometimes we decide ahead of time what we are going to look for and take pictures of.  We’ve been on a flamingo tour of the neighborhood.  We’ve watched for flags, pumpkins, shapes, birds, flowers and litter (which we picked up along the way).  Our most recent excursion was to take pictures of signs of spring.  Sometimes we have a certain destination like the post office or library and we have created a game for him to practice counting.  He knows how many pictures he has room for on his card.  We divide that number in two and he pays attention to the number on the screen and tries to pace himself, taking half the photos on the way out to our destination and half on the way home. 





When we return home we watch a slide show on our computer of the photos he took and choose the best ones.  We then upload these to Facebook where we can share them with friends and family, especially his grandparents who have an interest in photography and are probably his biggest fans.  We sometimes do some more counting as we figure out how many photos were taken in a certain category.  For example, we add up the total number of flamingos in our neighborhood, how many flags were American flags, or the total of each shape he found.

 Our photography walks are a fun way to get some fresh air and exercise while taking in our surroundings, teaching my little one a creative way to be more observant of the world around him.  Dust off that obsolete camera in your closet or keep a lookout for a cheap one that has been tossed aside.  It may turn out to be very valuable to your creative little heart.



Our Fall foliage walk

Signs of Spring walk

Pumpkins

some fantastic fungus caught his eye on this walk

I know I am biased, but I have to admit some of his photos are pretty impressive!



Flower Pounding: celebrate springtime with a bang!

My preschooler was thrilled that today is the first day of spring!  The weather was actually more summer-like, but we’re not complaining!  My guy has been picking me “wild flowers” out of the lawn a lot during the past week.  When I suggested that we make a card to cheer up a friend he thought we should pick flowers and attach them to the card.  I explained that the flowers probably wouldn’t hold up well in the mail, but it reminded me of the perfect spring art project!

Flower pounding is the process of layering colorful petals and leaves on paper and then pounding them to release their pigments onto the paper.  We started by exploring our yard for blooms.  We picked some flowers, clover, and blades of grass (being careful to pick plants that are not poisonous).  Then we found a sturdy surface to work on.  Next, we placed some single blooms or petals onto a sheet of heavy paper like cardstock or watercolor paper and covered them with a sheet of paper towel or waxed paper.  (The paper towel or waxed paper  keeps the petals from sticking to your hammer or mallet.)  Carefully, we pounded the flowers to release their color onto the paper.  Watch those fingers!  If the waxed paper slides around a lot you can secure it with scotch tape (or painters tape which would be easier to peel off).  After filling the paper with pigment I gave him a pen and some butterfly stamps that he used to embellish his picture.  When he wants to stamp with multiple colors we use this trick: quickly color the rubber stamp with washable marker and then stamp immediately before it has a chance to dry.  You can get colorful images without turning all your stamp pads into mud!

Flower Pounding was a huge success at our house.  My son loved the process!  I hope you give it a try with your little creative hearts as a way to celebrate the beginning of this new season!