First stop: the museum’s Web site

Not only will it fill you in on the museum’s hours and current exhibits, many have online guides to visiting the museum.

On New York's Museum of Modern Art’s Web site (www.moma.org/destination), kids are introduced to the museum’s collection by an alien who’s on a mission to Earth to learn about modern art. It’s a useful introduction to any art museum. In addition to information about the works and their artists, there are interactive activities like making an online collage and writing a poem. (They also suggest that children make a sculpture out of aluminum foil, so if you’re going to show your kids the site, get an extra roll.)

The Smithsonian also has a good intro to museums on their Web site, www.si.edu. It has a special section written by a family from Kansas City that details the activities of their three children, Sally (13), Clyde (11), and Gloria (5), before, during and after their visit.

Discuss the exhibits with your kids before your visit

See which exhibits seem to interest them most. Before you go, read books or watch movies about the topic. Reading a book on dinosaurs before visiting a natural history museum get kids excited about the visit and makes the actual visit all the more interesting.

Look for exhibits that teach in unexpected and interesting ways

• The Peanuts gift shop at the Charles Schultz Museum.
• Joe Shlabotnik

“Global Shoes,” a brilliant exhibit created by the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, is a “hands-on, feet-in” display of 187 shoes from forty countries around the world. Kids can step into a variety of shoes such as reindeer boots from Finland, wooden shoes from Holland, and straw sandals from Korea. The exhibit travels frequently; contact www.brooklynkids.org for current locations.

Plan to visit early in the day

Museums are usually the least crowded on weekday mornings, right after they open. (If possible, avoid rainy days, which are often crowded.) 

Ask about special programs or guided tours for kids

If you’re going to an “adult” museum, explain to your children that they mustn’t touch the art because hands can damage it, and you want it to be around for a long time so that other children can see it.