Museums as Playgrounds

In elementary school, kids are becoming increasingly independent and it’s a good time to let them lead the way through the galleries. Visits can be longer as their attention spans expand; and because kids are developing their reasoning and logic skills, you should ask them open-ended questions about what’s going on in the work of art. These could include “Why is he screaming?” “Why is she smiling?” or “Why is there a urinal in the middle of the room?” Sculpture gardens are easy to visit because kids can run around without fear of reprimand.

Kids also enjoy exhibits that “gross out” their parents. “Grossology,” a popular traveling exhibit based on a book by Sylvia Branzei, focuses on the “slimy, mushy, oozy, crusty, stinky gross (yet scientific) things that happen in the human body.” Actually, parents like the exhibit too, because they can see how much their kids enjoy it (and it teaches science in an easy-to-grasp way). (www.grossology.org)

• Children pretend to be space rangers at the Chicago Children's Museum.
• dkaz

Programs for adolescents

Pre-teens are generally torn between spending time with family and friends. To ensure a positive museum-visiting experience, have them bring a friend along with the family. Teenagers, on the other hand, usually prefer to socialize with only their friends, and museums have developed programs where teens can hang out together. The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis developed their program for teens by consulting with a panel of teens. Since many teenagers are thinking about their future careers, Walker’s teen programs focus on bringing them together with professional artists. This works extremely well because, as the museum’s former director Kathy Halbreich put it, "Artists and teens have an immediate connection because they are both actively engaged in asking questions about life and culture and in overturning the status quo." One of Walker’s recent workshops had artist Asia Ward teach teens to deconstruct and reassemble secondhand toys into their own hybrid kinetic sculptures. (teens.walkerart.org)

Computers have revolutionized museum-going experiences in ways that are especially engaging to preteens and teenagers. At the Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center in Mobile, there’s a virtual reality theater that offers state-of-the-art shows on a screen the size of an 18-wheeler. The Exploreum also has a simulation that lets kids use a computer to design their own virtual roller coaster and then (virtually) ride it. Live exhibits, especially those that feature slightly scary animals like snakes, lizards and alligators, are also popular with kids, according to Ilka Porter, the Exploreum’s Education Coordinator. (www.exploreum.net)