"Going to the art museum with our kids always used to leave me with the same uneasy feeling I get each spring after I plant seedlings in our garden: I never know whether my efforts will pay off or why I bother....the challenge is convincing them that the museum halls are more than beautifully waxed racetracks." For the pre-teen "who would rather be at the mall or on the phone, simply getting them to join us is a feat." "Then, one day, as we left the museum at the tail end of another rushed and wartorn trip, something just short of miraculous happened. I discovered a parent's guide for looking at art with kids. Art museums across the country distribute these guides. The genius of this one-pager was that it was creative and simple." An excerpt from Family Fun magazine ("Art Explorers") - June 1995

Color of the Day: Search paintings for a specific color, then continue the theme at home, making same-colored snacks and drawings. Story Time: Make up tales about the scenes you see in a piece of art. BTV (Before TV): Explore an exhibit of Early American art to find out how Colonial families did things "before television," cars, and tape players. "Treasure Hunt" cards: Take with you a series of 3 x 5-inch, brightly colored cards with a different "topic" printed on each one. Each kid selects one card and searches for their "topic" in the artwork, such as hats, jewelry, or footwear. One card may ask them to plan an imaginary party, searching the paintings for everything from where to have the party to what to serve guests. Other cards may have them looking for outrageous characters: the best-dressed person, the scariest, the sweetest angel, a "dream date,"and someone they might like to have as a friend. Additional card topics might include: "things that move" & "search paintings for emotions" Bring a sketch pad to draw favorite paintings Questions to ponder: 1. If you could walk into any painting and actually experience the moment it depicts, which painting would you choose? 2. If you could buy any rare collection in the world, which would you choose?

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