| May is Museum Month so if you've been thinking | | | | do anything,~ one child observed cryptically about |
| about making this outing, this week might be a nice | | | | the mummies when interviewed by the Pittsburgh |
| time. | | | | Tribune-Review. Yup. |
| Each year, about 59 million visitors visit Canadian | | | | Learn and wonder together |
| museums-not just the big ones, but all the local | | | | Some parents traipse their kids through the exhibits |
| operations featuring everything from ceramics to | | | | with non-stop commentary. Ask any guide or docent |
| dories (our famed Maritime flat-bottom boats). | | | | and he'll tell you he's seen it. But nobody needs to do |
| Most kids go to the museum at least once during the | | | | that. Observations ("Hey, look at that-"), open-ended |
| school year, but that doesn't mean you can't go | | | | questions ("Wow, how do you think it-?") and plain |
| again, or more often. In fact, one way to hook your | | | | old-fashioned curiosity will engage your child better |
| kids on the museum is to tell them you'll go back to | | | | than explanations and you'll have a lot more fun in |
| check out the stuff that really piqued their interest. | | | | the process. |
| Once the bug has bitten, you can expand the | | | | Get interactive |
| interest with books, toys, and related media. | | | | Take advantage of any interactive exhibits. Kids can |
| To make the most of your outing, check out these | | | | go only so long just looking and listening. If there's |
| easy tips: | | | | something to touch, even if it's a screen, let the kids |
| Look at the website first | | | | loose on it. Don't expect them to stay in engaged in |
| It's impossible to see everything, especially in a large | | | | one spot for longer than 10 - 15 minutes. |
| city museum, so check out the types of exhibits | | | | Keep the experience alive |
| available first. Museum websites are pretty extensive | | | | After your trip and depending on your child's age, ask |
| these days and lots of them have a kid section with | | | | her to create a picture of her favorite item or exhibit |
| highlights for the under-12 set. | | | | or talk about the outing together and what you'd like |
| Think big, violent, and morbid One thing that | | | | to go back to see. Or rent Night at the Museum. (Did |
| volunteering for school outings has taught me: hook | | | | you know the American Museum of Natural History, |
| the kids where they're interested and watch the | | | | upon which the film is based, was so inspired by the |
| attention span grow. Dinosaurs, amour, swords, and | | | | story that they started their own museum |
| Egyptian mummies are always a good bet. Kids enjoy | | | | sleepovers?) When kids think of museums as |
| getting so close to something that scary without | | | | libraries-places to return to over and over again-they |
| actually being in danger. "They're dead and they can't | | | | become lifelong museum lovers and supporters. |