Museum Visit TIPS – Take the KIDS

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Taking the kids to a museum might seem like a daunting task. How many adults would glaze over if popped into a room full of art? MOST adults would so why wouldn’t children become walking zombies in an art museum without prior knowledge of why this stuff is worth looking at??

With the right tips and information, you CAN make a museum visit interesting, intriguing, fascinating and love every minute of it!

Tips for taking the kids to a museum and loving it!

Museum Visit TIPS – Museum’s website

Visit the museum’s website. Find the British flag and click here for English. Check the menu for the top sights.

See what they have for families. Is there an activity for kids? Go ahead and download it now and look at it.

Sometimes they are beautifully put together by people who know children and sometimes they are written by people who seem to have never even met children. Better to know BEFORE you go in case you need plan B.

Museum Visit TIPS – Take a guide for the kids.

The best advice I have for parents visiting museums with kids is to give kids a job. Give them something to look for like things that start with the letter of their name.

Have the younger kids look for everything they can find in a certain color. Hint: white or beige is in every single painting!

My travel guides to museums are written for children and include history, information and activities to help kids and their parents enjoy the visit together.

Galleria Borghese – Rome

Prado – Madrid

Vatican City – Rome

Louvre – Paris

Know before you go!

While researching our upcoming trip to the MET, I was happily surprised that there are many kid tidbits to download. Read and listen BEFORE you go. I was excited to see a downloadable audio tour. Thankfully, I could listen to a sample.  In my opinion, not well suited for children.

Museum Visit TIPS – Consider a tour

Does the museum offer tours?

If a guided tour is your thing be sure to check times and languages. Sometimes an English tour is only available at certain times. Do you need to make a reservation?

**Questions to ask before booking a tour:

How many people will be in the group? 

If there are 800 people in the group you will not be able to see the guide or the art, and you won’t be able to hear. I do not recommend a large tour group, especially with kids. They won’t be able to see or hear and will be bored and acting up in no time.

Will you be able to ask questions?

You would think that asking questions during a tour would be OK – maybe even encouraged, but not so. Some tours have a schedule to keep and if you don’t understand too bad, so sad.  Needless to say…I don’t recommend these either.

Will you be able to linger if you find something you like or move on if you are bored?

Unless you book a private tour then no…you will have to move at the speed of the guide and the majority of the people. This alone makes it very hard to enjoy group tours.

Are there different types of tours?

Sometimes there are tours for different types of groups and even languages. A child-friendly tour in English will be much better received than a tour designed for art and history majors in college.

Museum Visit TIPS – Plan your itinerary.

Look at the museum website to see which pieces they are most excited about. Usually, the most famous stuff is listed right there on the website. Look them over to see which ones catch your fancy.

Is there a section that might interest your travelers? Maybe Egyptian art? Sculpture? Larger than life paintings? Start where your passion lies!

Make a list of the art you want to see.

Once you have a list of the artwork you want to see, read about those pieces of art online.

Don’t forget to learn about the artist, too. They can be very colorful topics!

Kids’ websites are the best at giving you just the good stuff and make for great cliff notes for the rest of us.  Avoid the 8000-page college dissertation only an art major could understand and stay awake through.

Plan only a few hours for your visit. 

You just can’t see the whole museum – it would take days, months, years! Even if it were possible, your entire family would mutiny.

So, plan to see just the main pieces.

Give kids purpose.

The Educational Tourist’s Travel Guides for KIDS give the kids something to look for, something to count, something to imagine. This focus gives everyone something to think about without being overwhelming. Otherwise, 800 paintings of Madonna and child is just 799 too many!

Older kids can look for art styles.

Give the kids an idea of different art styles to consider.

Give the kids something to count.

Even the littlest travelers can tally dogs, hats, and birds.

***Tally marks are an important math skill! Give yourself a pat on the back for helping your kids appreciate real-world math skills. Be sure to explain it that way, too. Lots of kids don’t see what they do in math class as something they use in real life.

Give them a piece of paper, clipboard, and a pencil and be prepared to savor the art! Make it extra fun with silly pens and pencils. Here are few favorites!

Save time – just click and buy now. What mom has time to hunt all over town for such things? No one!

I love these colorful clipboards and the kids will love them, too! Take a sharpie to personalize each one for an extra special touch.

Museum Visit TIPS – Wear good walking shoes! 

Be careful with shoes. Good walking shoes aren’t always good ‘standing’ shoes.

Choosing the wrong shoe will have your feet and back aching and will put everyone in a bad mood. Give shoes the respect and consideration they deserve!

Be aware that the best shoes for walking all day are different than the best shoes for standing.

You might think you aren’t going to do much standing around, but I think you might be surprised. You are standing at the train station, in line for a site, at the museum while you are admiring the art. I have learned the hard way to choose shoes carefully.

My all-time favorite shoes are low hiking shoes. They give great lateral support for ankles when you are walking over cobblestones or other uneven surfaces. They have lots of yummy squish for standing in one spot and they are made for miles and miles of walking. There are lots of great brands which you should choose for the shape of your foot.

My personal favorites are the Merrell brand. This is my actual shoe and I love the pink!! It is so wonderful that this pink one is actually my 3rd pair of this exact shoe. I also had it in pink and green. It is comfortable, lightweight, sturdy and cute!

You can’t wear shoes forever…they have a ‘mile’ limit and lose their squish and support. I’m actually glad that these shoes don’t last forever because I’m really loving the new teal one!! I think I need it, don’t you?? 😉

Don’t forget the young children. Good shoes are important for them, too.

It is always a good idea to toss in a few bandaids just in case. I like this ‘tough’ band-aids which feel like fabric. They handle the friction from shoes really well without peeling off while you are walking.

If you have one that sometimes uses a stroller consider taking it.  Your little one might need a place to rest. Check ahead of time to make sure that the stroller is allowed. Sometimes you have to coat check them.

Choose a stroller that is lightweight and easy to fold yet still has sturdy wheels. Cobblestones and lightweight umbrella strollers don’t go together.  This 3DLite stroller is a best seller on Amazon. It reclines in 4 separate positions. This means you can have the baby up and watching what is going around, leaned a little during snack time if you use it for a high chair and flat for nap time. There is even a spot underneath for your stuff.

Museum Visit TIPS – Visit the gift shop.

Promise a reward for good behavior. Let kiddos choose a calendar, pencil, or postcard for their room.

Pick up a little something for yourself, too, and pat yourself on the back for a successful visit!

I like to choose something small to hang on my Christmas travel tree! Usually, bookmarks and keychains are available

I’d love to hear all about your museum visits!

Happy and Educational Travels,

Natalie, The Educational Tourist