Tips for Taking Kids to a Museum

Although museums can be a great place to learn about history, art, or culture–they’re not always kid-friendly and up until recently the thought of taking my crew inside was terrifying. I mean, there have been times when we barely make it through the grocery store without a major meltdown or three, so my initial thought was until they’re older, we’ll just read a book about that–thanks.

But this homeschooling journey is stretching my comfort zone, and while my introverted personality was okay sticking to books and videos, I really wanted the kids to receive the reinforcement these hands-on experiences would give them. And so with daddy’s day off, some advance planning, and very realistic expectations we’ve been able to pull off a few successful excursions lately. I think we’ll even plan a few more!

Here are a few tips for taking these trips with young kids:

1. Prepare for the Visit

Prepare for your visit by learning more about the the subject you’ll be observing. If we hadn’t been learning about Greece, ancient architecture, or mythological gods, our visit to the Parthenon would have flopped. But we’d prepared ahead of time by reading kid-friendly nonfiction, visiting the museum’s website, and talking about things they were interested in seeing or doing while we were there. The anticipation and background knowledge (schema) made the exhibits much more interesting for all of us.

2. Set Expectations

Sometimes adults forget that little ones need to be taught proper behavior. Before the trip, and then again before entering the doors of the museum, spend time talking about what behavior is and isn’t appropriate inside. Kids don’t naturally know what their voices should sound like, what their feet should do, what their hands can touch. Depending on the age of the kids, you may even want to do a role play so they can “practice” their museum visiting behavior.

The best time to teach this behavior is before the trip–not in the moment and setting expectations and boundaries will help eliminate a lot of stress and frustration. (And will make it more likely that you’ll be invited back again!)

3. Check Out the Map

When the kids and I read a new book we often start with a “picture walk,” scoping out the illustrations and making predictions about what the story might be about. A similar lesson can be applied to your museum visit if your destination offers a map. Take a few minutes to scope out where things are located, and decide where you’d like to go first.

Since Ryan especially loves maps, and taking a few minutes to study it is always worth it for us. It helps the kids get excited about what they’ll see during our visit and they love acting as a tour guide, directing us to the next destination.

4. Narrow Your Focus

If you’ll be visiting a large museum, it’s a good idea to narrow the focus of your exploration. Trying to see or do too much can be overwhelming for kiddos (and mommies!) and may result in meltdown.

A recent trip to the children’s science center revealed extensive hands-on displays in several different subjects. Since I’d taken the time to prepare for the visit (tip #1!) I knew there would be too much to do in one afternoon so rather than risking the over stimulation of seeing everything, we chose to narrow our focus to the human body exhibits. Letting the kids take the time to explore and naturally exhaust each exhibit meant we missed a whole wing of the museum. But taking that time and focus also meant they got more out of it than they would have if we’d rushed though just to be able to see everything. And now we’ll have plenty of fresh things to see the next time we visit!

5. Keep Them Engaged

Consider ways to keep your kids engaged by planning an activity such as a photography scavenger hunt (things to look for and photograph with a digital or disposable camera), or an “I Spy” game. If they like to write or draw, you could bring a notebook or sketchbook and have them describe or draw a picture of something they see. Older kids could answer a list of prepared questions as they explore the exhibits.

6. Have Fun!

Lastly, have fun! The goal is to learn and experience together, and if you have a good time together, you’re more likely to do it again.

What experiences have you had taking your kids to a museum? Do you have any tips to add?