7 Ways to Entertain Kids at Museums

I love going to museums and have always wanted my kids to be just as excited about them as me. Their first museum was visited in a stroller, and when they were finally able to walk it was time to explore the Museum of Natural History in NYC.  Some of my friends think it’s pointless to bring their kids because they don’t get anything out of it.  Seriously?  How can you possibly stand next to the statue of David and not get anything out of it? However, how do you entertain kids at museums?

Now don’t get me wrong, my kids and I don’t stand at a painting and discuss the contrasting and muted tones or the use of negative space.  It usually sounded more like, “Hahaha…look Mom…BOOBS!”

My girls have been to museums in NYC, Boston, Portugal, London, and Greece and have never once told me they were bored.  When they were young, they treated a museum as a place to use their imagination and they come up with some pretty cool ideas.  Now that they’re teens they still love going to museums. I asked the girls to share in their own words some tips on how they’d entertain themselves at museums when they were younger. Take it away ladies…

SKETCH BOOKS

“We liked to take a sketch book and sketching pencils and sit in front of a painting and try to draw it.  I liked to bring headphones and listen to music when I was sketching because you don’t hear the people around you.” -M

 TOUR GUIDE

“We pretended we were the tour guides from the museum and my mom, dad, sister and Mimi were the people taking the tour. We’d take turns being the tour guide.” -B

ARTIST/SCIENTIST

“When we were at a science museum we would pretend we found the fossils, ancient artifacts, and dinosaur bones. When we were at an art museum we pretended we painted the picture and we would explain it.” -B

EYE SPY GAME

“We would tell each other if we are looking in a whole room or on just a wall and we would give Eye Spy hints until the other person got it.  There’s a museum near our house that has an Eye Spy game that you can play on each floor of the museum.  That’s where we got the idea and we started playing it at every museum we went to.” -M

MUSEUM FAMILY PACKETS

“In Greece they gave us a backpack that had a scavenger hunt for all the Athena statues in the museum. They gave you hints to where the statue was and when you found it you put the sticker of that statue on your map.  It kept us entertained and made us really look at some of the statues.” -M

POSING

“When we were young we liked to act like the statue and my mom would take a picture of us.  I liked to make my face have the same expression and put my body in the same position.  You can imagine what it looked like in front of a Picasso” -B 

OUR HOME

“We’d walk around a palace in Portugal pretending it was our house.  We showed our bedrooms, kitchen, and living room. We pretended we were sisters that lived in the castle and we gave the tour to my mom, dad, and Mimi.” -M

Tips for a great museum visit 

• Choose a museum that is appropriate for your family.  My girls have different interests and I try to make sure there is something for everyone. To entertain kids at museums you need to think of what will spark their interest. For example, at the MET we make sure to see the Egyptian section for one kid and the medieval section for the other.  
• Research the museum before you go.  Does it have activities for kids? Does it have family fun packs or backpack activities?
• Break up your visit. Stop for a snack if there is a cafeteria or go to the outside area for some fresh air.  
• Use the coat check.  You want your kids to be comfortable as you walk around.  Do not carry a heavy coat as you explore.  
• Get the headsets if they are available.  My older daughter loves facts and listening to the headset tour keeps her entertained.  At Westminster Abbey my younger daughter listened to the choir music on the headset and never turned on a fact but it still added to her experience.
• Leave before they have a meltdown.  You don’t have to see the entire museum.  Choose the best parts and focus on that.  Save the less exciting stuff for the end if they want to keep going.

What tips do you have to entertain kids at museums?