3 photos: a boy making art, the Fun Things for Families brochure, and a girl making art

April 2018 Family Fun

This April, get a conversation started when you visit the museum as a family. Pick up a “Fun Things for Families to Do Today” brochure, and check out the “TALK ABOUT IT!” tabs for discussion ideas. Pair the conversation starters with our programs and exhibitions to create a fun family visit.

Try one of these five prompts during your next visit:

1. Join us for Free First Saturday on April 7, and listen to our master storyteller at Art Stories (Cuentos del Arte). Story times are 11:30 am and 1 pm. After listening to the imaginative stories behind featured artworks, have kids find an artwork that reminds them of a memory they have and encourage them to share that story with you!

2. Catch the fun, fast-paced program Foxy and Shmoxy: Art Detectives on April 8 at 10:30 or 11:30 am. Pick up a letter from the Fox Box, find the fox detectives in the galleries, and get ready for art exploration and a little bit of silliness! After helping the foxes with their current mystery, ask kids to find an artwork that matches the way they feel right now. Foxy and Shmoxy: Art Detectives always makes me feel happy, so I would probably pick the big, red dinosaur, Made in China.

3. As you crisscross the galleries, prompt kids to find an artwork that shows a place where they would like to sleep. Maybe it’s in the constellation-filled, whimsical installation Past the Tangled Present. Perhaps they’d prefer a shady spot in a Western landscape. What makes it an ideal location to take a snooze?

4. Drop by Create Playdate on Wednesday, April 11 between 10 am–1 pm. Kids can create a colorful fish figurine that represents them and make a second to share with a parent, sibling, or friend. Keep the conversation going as you head into the galleries. Encourage kids to find an artwork that they would like to give someone as a gift. Who is it that they are selecting an artwork for? Why do they think that person would like the one they chose?

5. Finally, have kids find an artwork that they would most like to have in their home. If they could actually take the artwork home, where would they display it?

If they want to take a masterpiece home, try having them create a wire or paper artwork of their own in the 3-D Studio, open daily. Or, let them invent their own sea monster map at the newest Create-n-Take, “Mapping Myths and Monsters,” on weekends from 10:30 am–4 pm.

Try these prompts, or encourage kids to come up with their own!