How to Give Kids a Great Museum Experience
The prospect of taking your kids to a museum is daunting. You are probably wondering if you'll survive in one piece or even if the museum will survive. Here are six steps toward a great museum experience for you and your kids.
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Instructions
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Talk ahead of time about what kids should expect. Where specifically are you going—and what, specifically, will you do when you get there. “We are going to the Nelson Art Gallery to look at paintings of animals.” Remember, they will only be as enthusiastic and positive about the upcoming experience as you are!
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Prepare before you go. If you are going to look at paintings of animals, know specifically where they can be found. Look at the museum directory, preferably ahead of time. For many museums, this is something you can do online. Decide on only one or two exhibits to visit. You can always come back another time and kids will get more out of their visits if they really take time to look at each item in one exhibit.
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Only stay for five minutes for every year of the child’s age. A half an hour is plenty for a first-grader but a sixth grader will probably enjoy an hour. It is worth it to stop by a museum for 10minutes with a toddler who can be shown one very interesting painting—and then carried away wailing for more. These time limits will produce children who want to return.
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If you're visiting an art museum, tell kids to pretend they were the artist. Ask them questions like, “What gave you the inspiration for this work of art?” “How did you start it?” “What kinds of problems might you have had?” or “How did you feel about it when it was finished?”
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When visiting a science or history museum, remember the name of one item or display that especially interested your children. Follow up your visit to the museum with a trip to the library to check out a book on that subject, or do some online research.
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Encourage children to make a souvenir of their visit. If cameras are allowed, they can take pictures of one or two of their favorite works. Or they can take a sketchpad and try drawing a picture of something they particularly liked. Children also enjoy picking out a postcard of their favorite exhibit or work of art from the museum gift shop.
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Tips & Warnings
These steps apply particularly to non-interactive museums. By searching online for “interactive museums” in your city, you can find places where the hands-on exhibits will usually interest most kids.
