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On a kid scale of one to broccoli, plodding through a classic art museum is right up there with forced consumption of the much-maligned vegetable. Especially in the summer, when there are things to do like, say, sloshing down a water slide or smearing neon glue-slime on your little sister.
Oh sure, children love science museums, aquariums and space museums where they can touch stuff, play with stuff, run amok, make neon glue-slime. But when it comes to art, they usually recoil in horror. Insert yawning eye-roll emojis here.
Let the laws of broccoli apply no more, because there are some fantastic things to do at Bay Area art museums while still absorbing the wonders of the fine arts, from Hogwarts-themed treks to dragon selfies. Here’s just a sampling.
Accio, Harry!
Does the wizarding world light up your kids’ eyes like a lumos charm? Then sign them up for a Wizard School Scavenger Hunt. Organized by the Watson Adventures museum-tour group, it’s a quest through the Triwizard-style maze of hallways and fine art at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor. It’s designed for kids, ages 10 and older, and their favorite adult muggles.
Guides take groups through the museum at Buckbeak speed in search of Harry Potter-related images hidden in classic paintings, like Dumbledore look-alikes, Goblets of Fire in a Rubens or a Nearly Headless Nick in a Rembrandt. It’s ridiculous fun — and a great entry point to the world of art.
Take a break: Take the twisty marble steps downstairs to the museum cafe. Grab a sandwich or salad – the menu is occasionally themed to special exhibits — and munch at the café or sit outside in the entry courtyard near Rodin’s The Thinker. He might be thinking about what to have for lunch.
But wait, there’s more: The Lands End Trail picks up right at the museum overlook, with great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin Headlands.
Details: Book the two-hour Wizard School tour ($18.50 for adults plus museum admission, $15.50 for kids) through Watson Adventures (www.watsonadventures.com/san-francisco). The next available date is Oct. 6. Or visit the Legion of Honor and hunt for Potter pictures on your own. Museum admission is $15 for adults, free for youth 17 and younger. Lincoln Park, 100 34th Ave., San Francisco; https://legionofhonor.famsf.org/
There be dragons here
San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum wants to share Asian art and culture with everyone, and that includes kids in a big way. The museum offers a wealth of family programs, from special docent tours just for kids to performances, Family Fun Days and treasure hunts in the collection. And artist workshops get kids up close and personal with museum exhibits. On Oct. 21, for example, Indian artist Shalinee Kumari will lead families through the “Painting Is My Everything: Art from India’s Mithila Region,” then help them create paintings of their own.
Take a break: Grab an ice pop or a kid-sized bento box at the museum’s new Sunday at the Museum cafe (which despite the name is actually open Tuesday through Saturday, as well).
But wait, there’s more: Even before entering the museum, kids will love the giant, psychedelic dragon on display on the museum’s Larkin Street steps. It’s made by artist Hung Yi with creatures from Taiwanese folk art and Japanese textiles mixed with pop art and children’s cartoons from around the world. Perfect backdrop for a selfie. Use it as inspiration to hunt for more dragons in the galleries.
Bonus: Pick up a copy of the adorable and kid-friendly “Adventures in Asian Art: An Afternoon at the Museum,” written and illustrated by former Disney animator Sue DiCicco and the museum’s education director Deborah Clearwaters. It’s stocked at the museum gift shop, but if you order it online ahead of time, it’ll get children hooked before they even get to the museum.
Details: Museum admission is $15 for adults, $10 for teens and free for kids 12 and younger. 200 Larkin St., San Francisco; www.asianart.org
Make it, together
The Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History has plenty of art in its own right, including the current exhibition of community portraits with more than 250 paintings of people in the community done by artists in the community. Yup, they’re all about building community and one big way is with projects for kids and adults that spread out into nearby Abbott Square. The museum offers regular family friendly “make” events, like making flower crowns or birdlike wings to wear.
Take a break: Over the last year, Abbott Square has developed into a hopping, art-filled community hub with murals, kinetic sculptures and an indoor food hall with plenty of local restaurants to choose from.
But wait, there’s more: Don’t let your kids miss the museum’s Chamber of Heart & Mystery. It’s an “imaginarium” set up as the fictional study for Dr. Cora X. Crux, “renowned explorer of the heart and its mysteries,” with whimsical artwork, cabinets of curiosities and a magic lantern theater.
Details: Museum admission is $10 for adults, $8 students, free for kids under age 5. 705 Front St., Santa Cruz; www.santacruzmah.org
Use your hands
If you spot a hand-shaped icon on an exhibit in Oakland Museum of California’s Gallery of Art, you can actually touch it — yes, in an art gallery! And there’s stuff to do, too. At the portrait wall, you can look in a mirror and draw your own self portrait, then see it displayed on the wall amid classic paintings. You can meet a robot sculpture made from found scrap metal, wave at him and get him to make noises. Or hunt for hidden objects in works of art.
The museum also hosts regular family-friendly events, including Friday Nights @ OMCA with food trucks and craft workshops for kids.
Take a break: Visit the museum’s Blue Oak Café for miso noodle soup or mac ‘n cheese. Or head out to the beautiful sculpture-filled gardens to enjoy snacks you brought from home, while the kids play on the lawn.
But wait, there’s more: Don’t miss the museum’s history and science galleries, too, for more hands-on fun.
Details: Museum admission is $15.95 for adults, $6.95 for youth, free for kids 8 and younger. 1000 Oak St., Oakland; www.museumca.org.
DIY masterpieces
At the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, they don’t expect you to merely gaze at art. You’re encouraged to make your own. Four times per week the museum’s Fisher Family Art Lab opens its doors for drop-in art-making workshops where kids and adults can create their own drawings, collage or event print projects under the loose supervision of a trained artist-instructor. On the second Saturday of the month, “Gallery + Studio: events – for ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult — combine an interactive gallery tour with a related art project.
Take a break: Grab a granola and fresh fruit or a seasonal soup at the museum’s Babette Café (which you can access without museum admission).
Details: Museum admission is $13 for adults, free ages 18 and younger. 2155 Center St., Berkeley; www.bampfa.org
