The art of engaging children
NEW YORK – It used to be that children didn’t feel welcome in the hallowed halls of the country’s best art museums. And they probably weren’t.
Things have changed, though – so much so that Child magazine ranks the 10 best art museums for kids in its March issue. Note that it’s not “children’s art museums,” these are the real deal. (The Art Institute of Chicago topped the list. Find the list at www.child.com.)
Child editor in chief Miriam Arond decided it was time to explore art museums after noticing “a big change in attitude.”
“We all grew up with a ‘Don’t touch, don’t talk too loud’ attitude,” she said. “But there’s a recognition now that if you don’t get children excited about art at a young age, it’s unlikely they’ll walk in when they’re 15 or 20 and be immediately captivated. … Art museums have come a long way in catering to kids.”
Though it didn’t make Child’s top 10 list, Spokane’s Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture offers kid-friendly activity bags that correlate to exhibits, provides a family activity room and hosts special family events several months out of the year.
“There does need to be a little more interaction built into it for children,” said Kris Major, curator of museum education.
Activity bags, available for check-out at the museum, might encourage kids to create a drawing related to an exhibit or perhaps go on a scavenger hunt through the different galleries. With the newest exhibit featuring Native American baskets, the bags include samples of basket fibers that kids can touch.
“The tactile experience makes it real for kids,” Major said.
Museum officials also are committed to having an activity room where families can gather after viewing an exhibit to explore in a more hands-on way, Major said. For example, with an upcoming automobile-themed exhibit, the activity room may feature a crank or key ignition for kids to try. Kids will be encouraged to think about how different a road trip in 1927 would be compared with one today, she said.
Though she didn’t have numbers suggesting how many people use the activity room, she said, “Cleaning it up every morning tells us it’s popular.”
Also popular are the Family MACFests that run monthly October through March. The three-hour events offer “a lot of hands-on, make-and-take” activities and now regularly attract some 300 visitors, Major said. The next MACFest is scheduled for March 11.
The MAC and museums nationwide are following the paths forged by other experiences that used to be adult-oriented, including the dentist’s office, which now might have an aquarium, or a hair salon that keeps kiddie videos playing.
Instead of just looking and admiring Rembrandt’s paintings at the Dayton Art Institute in Dayton, Ohio, beginning in June children will be able to dress up in costumes similar to the subjects.
The Art Institute of Chicago has family art camps and an interactive exhibit called “Faces, Places and Inner Spaces,” featuring art from eight countries.
There’s also a “touch-me” gallery, encouraging kids to feel the different shapes and textures on sculptures from different periods. “Touching is extremely exciting for children. It eliminates the distance between children and art,” Arond says.
With art being a favorite target of school budget cuts, exposing children to art is increasingly becoming the responsibility of parents and the museums they turn to, Arond says, and it seems as if museums see this as an opportunity to ensure their own futures.
She adds: “Parents are learning a lot about art, too. Not every parent is an art history major. The activities not only make children more in tune to art, but the parent gets more interested and will really think about what they’re looking at.”