I’ve been taking my Sparklettes to the art museum ever since they were born. Quite honestly, it never occurred to me not to. Lest you think that visiting an art museum will end in a child tripping into a Degas sculpture or ruining the last Van Gogh, or that you will hear the cries of “I’m bored” echoing through the galleries, here are 5 fun games when visiting an art museum with kids.
1. Painting Scavenger Hunt
That little map that you can get for free at the entrance often lists some of the more prominent works at a museum. If they don’t, another option is to head into the museum gift shop and get a pack of postcards, or a little book with some of the paintings inside.
Then have your child keep an eye out for the painting. Hearing them yell “I found it!” in their teeny tiny voice is the best thing ever.
2. Object Scavenger Hunt
Depending on the art museum we are visiting, it’s fun to give my Sparklettes different things to look for in the museum. Choose something that means something to you, what you’re studying, or something fun for the kids.
One March we went to the National Gallery in London (Happy Birthday to me!) and I told one child they had to look for lions, and another skulls. I was trying to be ridiculous, but did you know there were a lot of skulls in certain rooms? Me neither. Always something new to learn.
Listening to your four year old walk into a gallery and happily announce “there’s a skull!” is honestly a bit hilarious, especially in England.
Lions are always fun too, because kids are often surprised at how lions were drawn hundreds of years ago when most people had not seen one. If you’ve never paid attention to the lions before, you’re going to want to. I challenge you not to burst out laughing.
3. What Were They Thinking?
Artistic interpretation takes on a fun new twist when you ask your kids to interpret some of the abstract art.
Don’t only ask what they see, and how does the piece make them feel, but also ask them what they think that the artist was thinking when they painted it.
Once they have their ideas, then they (or you) can read the placard.
My kids are always surprised to hear that a piece is supposed to be a woman, or a violin, or a bear in a meadow. They always step back again and take a second look.
4. Rename the Paintings
A variation on what was the artist thinking is letting kids rename the paintings, especially ones that are labeled “Untitled” on the placard.
Have them pretend that they’ve discovered this hidden piece of art, and it needs a name. Not only does this increase descriptive language skills, you often will yield some surprising results.
Little Sparklette declared that this painting be called “A Big Bowl of Donuts”.
5. Strike a Pose
One way that we often capture one of our museum visits it with funny pictures.
This is especially fun with sculptures or in the Ancient and Medieval history galleries. Kids can mimic the statues, or take funny pictures with them to memorialize their visit. Afterwards, you can even have them make a photo book and write their own captions for a bit of writing practice.
One thing my kids always look forward to is hunting for the art museum mummy. We always take a mummy picture to cap off our journey, when there is one.
Have more to add to our 5 fun games to play when visiting an art museum with kids? Please share in the comments below!