Taking Kids to the Museum - Before You Go

Maybe you’re in the mood for some culture, or maybe it’s a school vacation and you just need an excuse to get the kids out of the house. 

Either way, taking the kids to the museum can be a great experience. 

If you play your cards right. 

It just takes a little planning before you go.

Before you head to the museum:

Get on the museum’s website and poke around a bit. 

If your kids are old enough, have them poke around on the museum website too. Let them choose some exhibits to visit. 

Look for these things.

• What new exhibits are there?
• What exhibits will appeal to the kids?
• Are there any kid-centric areas of the museum? 
• Are there any activities/guides for kids you can print out or pick up when you arrive? 
• What are the food options?
• Are there interactive presentations at certain times?
• Are there rules about strollers, backpacks etc?
• What are the rules about food and drink?
• Are there lockers?
• Is there a courtyard or kid zone nearby where the kids can take a break? 

Additional tip: If you won’t be visiting the museum for several days yet, you could read books or watch movies/videos (on YouTube) that relate to the exhibits at the museum. (If there’s a butterfly or beetle exhibit, check out books on those. Or read picture books about renaissance painters, anything to give the kids more background knowledge that they can relate to when they see the exhibits at the museum.)

Decide when to go.

Think about these things.

• Will you be at the museum during a meal time? or snack time?
• Will you visit during nap time (in hopes the toddler will snooze in the stroller)?
• Will you visit for the whole day, or just for a couple hours around a special presentation?
• Will you schedule in some down time for the kids to just be kids (maybe in the cafe or outside)?

Pack accordingly.

Consider including these things.

• snacks, water bottles
• sketchpad and pencil for older kids to use
• any museum scavenger hunt printouts from the website. 
• camera (if photography is allowed)
• stroller entertainment for toddlers

Last tip: If possible, buy admission tickets online so you and the kids can skip that line when you arrive. 

I won’t say it’ll go off without a hitch, but if you do some planning before you go, your visit to the museum with kids should go a lot more smoothly. 

Save these tips for later by pinning the image below.

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