Visiting an Art Museum with Children: Scavenger Hunt

Who doesn't like a scavenger hunt?  A list of things to find, a sense of surprise and excitement, learning something perhaps you didn't know before.  Scavenger hunts are a great way to explore a museum without getting bogged down in seeing everything.  Many museums offer scavenger hunts in their children's materials or as special programs, just check their online listings (for example, The Cloisters is hosting a self-guided art hunt May 23-24, 2009).  Similarly, many companies offer scavenger hunts, such as Watson Adventures, while Wikipedia Loves Art has teamed up with the Metropolitan Museum of Art for their own thematic photograph scavenger hunt.

But you can also design your own, even if you have never visited that particular museum before.  And, by designing it yourself, you can tailor it to your own child's interests.  Start with the museum's website and map.  Clues need not only be about the art on the walls and pedestals, but can incorporate architectural features and amenities (such as shops or cafes), especially because these elements are unlikely to change, unlike works on view.  Pick a theme--from introduction to animals, portraits to history--and choose your questions based on it.  Decide on the goal of your hunt. Is it a fact-finding scavenger hunt, i.e. "find an artist who liked to paint water-lilies," or an exploratory, open-ended hunt with almost no wrong answers, i.e. "find a painting with food in it"?   Your child's interests and your knowledge of the museum will help determine your choice.  Is it a cooperative effort, with the whole family working together on one hunt, or a competitive effort with different individuals (except the hunt designer, of course) racing against one another (oh, but please don't run!!)?  Knowing your family will help you decide.  A few other things to consider:  does the hunt have to be done in the order it's written?  will you give hints (like playing "hotter-colder")?  is there a time-limit?  a prize?  For some good ideas and examples, see TimeOut New York's animal scavenger hunt at the Met, complete with parent's cheat sheet, a variety of age-appropriate hunts specific to the National Gallery of Art.

Happy hunting!