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My child: his first visit to the museum
This first visit should be a real moment of relaxation and fun for your child. Combine it with a little treat like eating ice cream or going on a merry-go-round. Make him understand that it is not a punishment instead of the swimming pool. Before going there, find out from the museum or on their website about the works to see and the temporary exhibitions to which you can access. All works are likely to speak to the mind of a child. He has a very fine perception. As soon as he is able to appreciate and look at picture books, he is able to look at paintings and enjoy them. Also note that most museums are free for children. And every first Sunday of the month, the museums have open doors for everyone.
At each age its museum
Around 3 years old, don’t ask him too much! It is normal that he takes the Louvre for a playground. Let his curiosity guide you and adapt to his pace. When allowed (as in open-air museums), let it touch the sculptures. The ideal? A museum equipped with a green space so that he can also relax. Either way, find what will be the most fun for him. Sometimes a small exhibition can be better for children. And then when you feel that he “hangs”, do not hesitate to stop on a single work, to ask him questions about the colors, the animals, the characters who smile or cry, for example.
From 4 years old, your child will have access to guided tours and workshops. If he seems reluctant, take the tour with him and take him to a museum that suits his tastes (ex: the city of children, the doll museum, the museum of Curiosity and Magic, the Grévin museum and all its celebrities, the firefighters museum). Some places also offer children to celebrate their birthdays (Palais de Tokyo for example). An original way to introduce him to art.
Photo: City of children
Limit the length of the museum visit
On arrival at the museum, ask for a map or a program of the place. Then select with your child what he would like to see, even if it means eliminating rooms and returning to it at the end of the course if he is finally interested. For a 3 year old child, one hour of visit is more than enough. The best, if you can, is to come back several times to the same museum to avoid imposing on it too long a route which will quickly become boring. The goal, remember, is simply to arouse aesthetic emotions.
At the museum: encourage your child to explore
Buy him a disposable camera or lend him a digital one to do his own story. As soon as you get home, he can print his works and make an album, for example. Make this visit a real treasure hunt. Tell him that there is a painting in the room to discover that contains an animal, or that there is a person in a red uniform? Imagine questions, a little common thread of the visit, he will not see the time pass. At the end of the visit, pass by the museum shop and choose with him a small souvenir of this adventure.
Visit to the museum: books to prepare your child
The 5 senses at the museum, ed. Cardboard, € 12.50.
How to talk to children about art, ed. Adam Biro, € 15.
The Museum of Art for Children, ed. Phaidon, € 19,95.
The Louvre told to children, Cd-Rom Gallimard jeunesse, € 30.
One minute at the museum, Cd-Rom Wild Side Vidéo, € 16,99.