Have you ever read the blog A Cup of Jo? I’ve been reading it for many years, like, since 2012. If you’re familiar with this era of blogs and bloggers, you’re probably already well acquainted with Jo. She has collected a devout comment section and her Instagram bio even says, “come for the blog, stay for the comments.”
Recently, Jo posted about visiting an art museum with her sons. She shared a trick for managing their behavior and over 175 commenters shared their ideas and insight.
Eventually, I would like to make a toolkit for parents and educators for visiting art museums with children. That’s a longish-term project. In the meantime, let’s see what we can learn from the shared knowledge and experience of the Cup of Jo comment section:
Betsy: Art Museum Docent weighing in here! When I’m giving tours to squirrelly kids, I always bring a deck of Apples to Apples adjective cards. They are great for giving an assignment in a gallery (find the painting that you think best matches the word ‘boisterous’ or ‘cuddly’ and be ready to explain why).
Carrie: When visiting abstract and modern art museums, we would always cover the info card and the kids would guess what the subject of the piece was. Then we’d look at the card to see the title of the piece and see how close they were. It really engaged them in the art and what it was trying to say but was a fun game that kept them entertained too. Worked well for kids age 8 and up I’d say.
Rosabella: Together with my sister, who lives in England, we would do “funny theme walks” which I would share with her via watsapp. Ugly babies. Little boys in frilly dresses. People who look really bored. Women who look way too pale. I would send her pictures and we would discuss what is going on in the picture, why do these people look like that, why were they painted like that. It turns every museum visit into a scavenger hunt.
Beth: I always loved the questions my mum would ask us – (portraits) who would you invite to dinner? (landscapes) where would you like to go? Which painting would you want at home? Why do you think that person is doing xyz? We would all take time to examine each piece and then share our answers.
Clizia: For our 3 1/2 girl all it takes is a wooden toy camera. She is thrilled and pretends to photograph everything. Soon we will upgrade to a workig kids camera. Also, here in Italy many museums are filled with paintings from Middle Age and Renaissance, and she loves hearing the weird stories of the saints portrayed. We also ask her to spot some random stuff in the paintings (a blue cape, a sword, an angel, you name it). What we also find useful is to practice the “butterfly voice” at home (i.e. whispering), so that she can use it when visiting museums or the endless art-filled churches.
Katie: Duck tails! It can be so hard for little ones in a museum setting where touching is not allowed. But standing straight with the back of your hands resting on the small of your back means you can form a little duck tail behind you. It can be a gentle reminder to look and not touch while adopting the posture of a seasoned gallery visitor! I work in a museum and learned this from a friend who brought generations of kids and grandchildren through the galleries with the frequent request “Let me see those duck tails!”
Megan: Follow the leader! I let them take turns being the leader & they get to go WHEREVER in the museum they want to go – and thousands of steps later we’ve seen so much. I love it. P.s. Cleveland’s Art Museum is wonderful!
Olivia Jane: I love this trick from a friend of a friend: the kids can collect a nickle for every nude they spot. One way to keep little eyes engaged!
Michele: As an artist living in Paris, I take my kids to lots of museums. Tricks that have worked for us: let them hold the map, always get the headphones (language and age level not important here), bring paper and pencil for drawing, play count the mustaches or naked butts, ask them take photos with a kids’ camera (it is fascinating to see the art from their viewpoint), and when all else fails let them take pictures with your phone using the Instagram goggly eye filter (because really goggly eyes do make all portraits and sculptures better).
Monica: Two museum tricks we have used: 1) Look for artwork that looks like each person in your group. (If photography is allowed) take a picture of you & your art doppelgänger, 2) Go to gift shop first. Pick out several postcards of artwork displayed in the museum and purchase them. Go on a scavenger hunt to find that art work.