Looking at Art Together

Watch How to Engage Your Child in Art for tips on how to cultivate a young visitor’s appreciation of art. Then review the suggestions below.

The “No Touching” Rule

• Stress to children that they cannot touch artworks. Explain that the museum needs to protect the art so that people can enjoy it in the future.
• Encourage children to talk about the textures they feel when they "touch" it with their eyes.

Cultivate Curiosity

• Allow your children to move at their own pace.
• Tune in to what excites them and help them make discoveries.
• Read the object label for information you can talk about.

Relate Art to the Familiar

• Relate what you see to what your child already knows. For example, explain that a suit of armor served the same purpose as a catcher's mask, a bicycle helmet, or shin guards—it protected the body.
• Remind them that art is something we live with every day. Most of the artworks in the museum were once owned and used by real people.

Visit in Child-Size Portions

• Stay only as long as your child is engaged.
• Young children usually learn best in sessions lasting ten to fifteen minutes. 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.