It may not be the most obvious choice to take two young children to an art museum (at the time my boys were 4 year old and a 12 month old) but I was pleasantly surprised at how family friendly MoMA is.
The children and I spent a lovely morning at the museum during the February Winter Break from school. Upon entry, we went to the information desk and Bubs was given a 'passport' with activities inside. There were also activity cards the children were encouraged to take and complete during their visit. When Bubs was at school in London, his class would have an artist of the week to learn more in depth about. From this experience, he has two favourite artists - Mondrian and Matisse. This formed our itinerary, we set off to look for his favourites. Along the way, we came across Van Gogh and Picasso - my favourites.
The activity cards were fantastic and they were age appropriate. Each card has a couple of questions to get the children thinking and talking about the works of art. Bubs and I spent a long time discussing the Mondrian piece, prompted by the questions on his activity card.
During our visit, it was too cold to properly enjoy the sculpture garden. If you're visiting with children, this would be a great place for them to run around or to have lunch outside.
Useful things to know:
- Admission is free for under 16s
- Strollers are allowed into the galleries
- Before visiting, find out if there is a particular artist your kids would like to see. With Bubs, the fact that he could see Matisse and Mondrian's work enthused him prior to our visit
- Bring ID for the audio guides. There are kids friendly versions available too.