Things You'll Need:
- patience
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Step 1
Hands-on section for kids at the Contemporary Arts Center in CincinnatiResearch art museums to figure out which ones are most kid friendly and have some hands on activities. For instance, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati all have special areas with art projects and objects kids can touch and play with. Don't forget to check the hours of the hands on area before you go.
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Step 2
Kids made hats during a program about portraits at the National Gallery of ArtMany art museums have children's activities and/or special family days. These events generally include an art project that kids do themselves. For instance, the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian in Washington DC, and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles have regularly scheduled kid-friendly activities that are worthwhile planning a visit around if possible. As a bonus, the Getty Museum also has gardens in which the kids can stretch their legs a bit and a tram ride from the parking lot to the museum.
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Step 3
The regular galleries in the art museum can be visited, for a short time at least, even with kids in tow. By using one of the following techniques:
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Step 4
If several adults are available, then one or two can stay with the children at the kid-friendly activity while the others check out the museum. Then, hopefully, the adults can switch so that the ones watching the children will have a chance to explore the museum.
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Step 5
Another possibility, if the kids are old enough, is to plan a scavenger hunt for specific objects (dogs, children, fruit) or colors in the paitings. For instance, my 4 year old was bored in an art museum until we started searching for trains and boats in the artwork. The Cincinnati Art Museum has a ready made scavenger hunt for families, and the kids can get a small prize for completing it.
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Step 6
Enjoying the art at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles can be broken up with a visit to the gardens to extend kids' attention span.By finding museums with appropriate family-friendly activities, a trip to an art museum can be fun for the whole family as long as the limitations of the kids are kept in mind. I always plan art museum visits around family friendly activities so that we are not the family visiting and making noise. I also don't exceed my kids' attention span by expecting them to spend much time in the galleries without complaining.
