Growing up near New York City, I was fortunate to have access to some of the greatest museums in the world. However, through much of my childhood, I did not appreciate this at all. My parents would drag me to art museums in the city, as well as when we were on vacation. I recall sullenly sitting on a bench waiting for them to be done. Now that I am a parent, I want my children to appreciate culture, and luckily we live in an area where there are lots of terrific museums. Frankly, for every amusement park, horrible movie, and arcade that I have had to endure, I feel that I have earned a quality cultural experience every now and then. Living in Providence we have easy access to a gem – the RISD Museum. I have found a few strategies that have helped our kids enjoy quite a few visits.
Be Strategic
Unlike a larger museum like the Museum of Fine Arts or The Metropolitan, you can get through the entire RISD Museum in an afternoon. There are some sections that my kids enjoy more than others, so we are rarely ambitious enough to think we will see everything. For a museum of any size, sit your kids down with the map and figure out the three or four areas that would interest them (or look at it online the night before). My kids love the large Buddha on the top floor and there are often multimedia exhibits. My teenager is old enough to appreciate some of the fashion exhibits and my younger one likes anything connected to ancient Egypt. If there is an area that you desperately want to see, but the kids are fighting it, there is no shame in dividing and conquering. My husband is a pro at occupying the kids in the gift shop so I can get half an hour by myself.
Don’t read every detail of every painting. Stay in each space long enough to appreciate it, but don’t linger. Remember – you are not writing a thesis, you are enjoying the art.
A good café and gift shop are key and the RISD Museum has both. The gift shop features RISD grads and has a section geared toward kids. Café Pearl has Bolt Coffee – enough said.
Try a scavenger hunt
I have noticed that several art and history museums now have scavenger hunts for kids of different ages. If they do not, then make one yourself. Find three paintings with the color red. Look for a sculpture of a horse. We sometimes go into a modern art room and play a game of, “Could you color that?” This keeps them moving and having fun. RISD also has lots of days geared toward children with interactive art projects, such as Tours for Tots and Family See and Sketch.
Explain the rules
Explain in advance that touching is not allowed and avoid rooms with items such as glass figurines or small sculptures. I have some not-so-fond memories of chasing a 3-year-old around a room full of sculpture saying, “Don’t touch that,” about a thousand times. Unless you want a security guard on your tail, keep a close eye. If your kids are little, definitely bring the stroller.
Go on a Sunday
The RISD Museum is free on Sundays. The admission is reasonable on other days, but this way you don’t feel bad if you have to leave after half an hour. Parking on either Benefit Street or North/South Main Street is also much easier on a weekend. It makes for a great weekend outing, especially on a cold winter day.
I would be lying if I said that we did not focus heavily on natural history museums or science centers. I am merely suggesting that you should not shy away from art museums. Children are by nature creative, open-minded, and adventurous. The sooner you expose them to art, the greater the likelihood that they will enjoy it when they are older. Picasso said that, “Every child is an artist,” and I believe that all children can learn to love the experience of going to a museum.
