Family Fun at the Philly Art Museum

A Fun thing to do—with kids (or without).

As the summer winds down, you may be finding it a challenge to find different activities for your children. Have you thought of taking them to the Philadelphia Museum of Art?  Just visiting the place is an awe inspiring (in the true meaning of the word) experience. Right now, there is a quite wonderful collection of paintings of the Impressionists on display.  The focus of the exhibit is a French art dealer who quite literally cornered the market on Impressionist paintings at a time when no one particularly wanted them, and held on at great personal sacrifice until they came into favor. When we visited last week, I was impressed with how many young children were there (many with grandparents), and how engaged they were with the paintings.  Asking the children questions about the paintings seemed to be especially successful in directing and holding their attention.  Since there are many children in the paintings, the children could relate to several of the canvasses.  The exhibit takes about an hour to see. Everyone gets a walkman with descriptions of many of the works.  You can choose which ones you want to listen to.  Of course there’s the obligatory gift shop, but the museum also has a nice cafeteria which serves all kinds of good food and desserts. If you have more time to explore, there is a wonderful collection of armor, as well as miniatures and many other galleries with specific interests in mind.  If you know what your child will be studying in school this year, you could focus on that time period or genre. Having taught mythology for several years, that’s always a favorite of mine. Parking is easy in a subterranean parking lot, a very short walk from the door.  The staff is friendly and helpful.  Enjoy an afternoon of family fun and education at the Philadelphia Art Museum.