Art Project #36: Visiting the Art Museum.

I've been wanting to take the boys to an art museum for years.  But it's one of those trips that is easily put off.  I knew they would not love it as much as visiting science or children's museums and since they weren't begging to go we never got around to it.

I figured that now was the perfect time to visit!  It went well with our 100 Days of Art Challenge, it was the perfect activity for us to do with Ian's hand in a brace, and, best of all, our art museum had free admission for the month of August!

I am so glad we went too.  My boys enjoyed it tremendously and kept telling me how much fun they were having.

We're lucky that our art museum is very kid friendly!  This month they had a special exhibit all about cats.  There was a scavenger hunt of sort through the museum to see all the art work that had cats in it.  We had a map to follow and each exhibit had a picture of a cat near it so we knew when we found it.

Our first "cat stop"

They had an interactive exhibit set up called Cats in Residence.  The art and design students from nearby schools put together a netted cage filled with all sorts of climbing things and toys for the cats and the museum brought in cats for people to pet and see.  All of the cats came from the local shelter with adoption papers and information.  Each grouping of three cats spends one week at the museum before going back to the shelter (or being adopted; it was posted that 77 cats has been adopted so far!).

Alec with Garbonzo 

Evan petting Diego 

We found art carts throughout the museum; though only one was open.  Each cart is in a different section and has a different theme.  Alec participated in one about mosaics; learning first about mosaics, the materials and colors used and what the meaning behind them was.

creating art at the art museum 

Learning about mosaics 

Wall mosaic 

Alec's completed mosaic 

Floor mosaic 

We studied the different painting techniques and talked about the differences between realism, pointillism, cubism, and impressionism.  We talked about perspective drawing, abstract art, and learned a bit about the preservation of art too.

We stopped for a snack in the courtyard and the boys played a game of chess, checked out the sculptures and mosaics.

Inside the ball sculpture 

Behind Evan you can see art on display from local schools and students

Throughout the museum they have carts of books and benches for reading, they have little stands set up where kids can have their pictures taken and a few rooms have dress up areas and kid friendly stops to learn about what is being shown in that room.  There were often drawing supplies, papers and coloring sheets around too! 

The older boys stopped to draw and color

One of the book carts we saw 

Wall mural in the children's play area behind the suits of armor 

I love when the boys take a personal interest in something and watch the excitement take over their face.  Evan just loved the various stained glass windows we saw and actually used my camera to take his own pictures.  Alec and Evan were both thrilled when we found some jade carvings; many of the names reminded them of the names on Steven Universe and they were excited to see some of these materials up close and in real life. 

My boys gushed about their trip and they told me so many times that they enjoyed it tremendously.  I was so glad and know that we will definitely be back! 

Our other art projects:
Project 1: Painting with Hexbugs
Project 2: Tissue paper flowers
Project 3: Star Wars Crafts
Project 4: Watercolor compass circles
Project 5: Floral pens
Project 6: Watercolor outlines
Project 7: Scratch art jellyfish

Project 8: Oil pastel flowers
Project 9: Fingerprint dandelions 
Project 10: Beaded Sun Catchers
Project 11: Bird Crafts and Snacks
Project 12: Color Mixing Butterflies
Project 13: Water Gun Art 
Project 14: Using Watercolor Kits
Project 15: Dragonfly Silhouette Paintings 
Project 16: Painting Pet Rocks
Project 17: Spray Paint Resist 
Project 18: Water Bottle Windsock 
Project 19: Stained Glass Kits 
Project 20: Tin Can Windsock
Project 21: Firework Glue Art
Project 22: Qixel Art
Project 23: Makit Bakit Kits 
Project 24: Wood Burning Project 
Project 25: Making Our Own Raft
Project 26: Spray Painted Canvas
Project 27: Paper Bowl Jellyfish 
Project 28: Tin Foil Art
Proejct 29: Oil Pastel Bubbles
Project 30: Chalk Pastel Paintings 
Project 31: Washi Tape Votive Holders
Project 32: Drip Painted Pots
Project 33: Sun Art 
Project 34: Tissue Paper Transfer
Project 35: Stained Glass Class