Quick tip for taking baby out to the art museum during that awkward age when she’s too old to hang out quietly in the Bjorn or sling (like Little Bear) but not old enough to really enjoy the sculptures or colorful modern art (like Widget).
Make up your own game and help your baby enjoy the art in her own way! We took Widget to quite a few museums and set him his own challenges even before he was a year old. While I would gaze dreamily at pictures of thisorthat, I would ask him, “Where’s the tree?” or “Where’s the dog?” At just the right age, this is a do-able, but not immediately do-able, task, and you buy yourself a few minutes to actually appreciate the art yourself. You could even just pick a target, like trees, dogs, or kids, and ask baby to find it in each painting (when there is one, of course).
Of course, when she’s old enough to insist on walking everywhere, all bets are off!
I should really post this over at Rocks in My Dryer for Works for Me Wednesday next week … I’d love to trade hints on helping kids enjoy museums. What do you do with yours?
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I am glad to read this – I have been wondering what I’m going to do this summer (in ultra-humid Miami) with my boys who will be 18 months by then. Maybe they’re not too young for the Children’s Museum after all….
SeaBird, at 18 months the boys definitely could be ready for the Childen’s Museum. Does yours have a toddler room? Many do, and the kids groove on the hands-on building toys, gears, dress-up, or water play. The Children’s Museum in Ithaca is FABULOUS like that; I’d take even a 10 month old in a heartbeat! Otherwise, they may get a lot out of the other displays and the “gee whiz” factor — just don’t expect them to experience the hands-on stuff in quite the same way that a preschooler or kindergartner might!