• Allow your children to move at their own pace.
• Tune in to what excites them and help them make discoveries.
• Stay only as long as your child is engaged. Young children usually learn best in 10- to 15-minute sessions. Thirty minutes to one hour in the galleries may be the limit.
• Don't try to see everything in one visit. Focused time with a few works of art is more valuable than a grand tour. A family membership makes shorter, more frequent visits an attractive option for young families.
• Discuss the "no touch" rule with your children. Explain that the museum needs to protect the artwork so that people can enjoy it for years and years. Encourage your children to talk about the textures they feel when they "touch" with their eyes. Even better, visit to the Touch Gallery, where they can touch specially treated and durable works of art.

Try the following conversation starters:

Read the label. The title of a work of art, the artist, the year it was made, and what it is made of can all contribute to your conversation about the object.

Relate what you see to what your child already knows. For example, a knight's suit of armor serves the same purpose as a catcher's mask, a bicycle helmet, or shin guards—to protect the body.

Write a story. Find a realistic painting or sculpture with recognizable subjects and write a story together that answers the following questions: Who are the people? Where are they located? What are they doing?

Sketch from the original! Take a seat in front of your children's favorite artwork and let them practice their drawing skills by sketching from a master.

Turn your children into detectives. Buy some postcards at the Museum Shop and then ask your children to find the pictured items. Later at home, the cards can be arranged for a home exhibition.

Play "I Spy." Have children choose an object in a gallery and describe it to other family members so that each one can take a turn guessing what the object is. For example, "I spy a work of art that is red and brown with sharp edges."

Seek and Find. Ask your child to find paintings that have his or her favorite colors, shapes, or objects in them. This game teaches children to look very closely at objects.