Museum Visit: The Metropolitan Museum

Join us for an amazing art tour for parents with young children. We're meeting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Saturday October 22, at 12:00 pm. We will play "The Matching Game," an art treasure hunt, with "postcards" we buy  in the Museum Store. We will hunt for the original paintings in the Impressionist collection of the Museum.

At the Museum store. 

Selecting postcards of our favorite Impressionist paintings.

Van Gogh’s Sunflowers?

A Degas Ballerina?

Monet's famous Japanese Bridge?

You could also choose a postcard of “William,” the little blue hippo from Egypt, and search for him in the Egyptian Wing, near the Temple of Dendur.

First lunch. (It's always good to begin a visit to a Museum with lunch. (Don't forget dessert.) We will take the elevator down to the Met's informal restaurant, where you will find a fresh salad bar and lots of delicious-looking desserts. We will nibble our salads and study our Impressionist postcards.

After lunch, we will take an elevator to the second floor to the Impressionist galleries. 

You will find the Van Gogh's Sunflowers immediately. Hold up your postcard, “matchy, matchy."

The Degas Ballerina is nearby.

 Monet's "Japanese Bridge" is in the next gallery. “Matchy, matchy.”

You may be inspired by all the art around you and might want to draw. Bring along a small drawing pad and some colored pencils. You can sit on the round sofa in the center of a gallery and draw some some colorful lines and circles.

After we find the Impressionist paintings, we will take the elevator down to the lobby and search for “William,” the blue hippo, in the Egyptian Wing.

Little  “William” is in a corner of one of the Egyptian galleries. “Matchy, matchy."

As we walk on,  you will pass some gigantic Egyptian sculptures. Take some photos of your small children next to the big figures.

The Temple of Dendur sits in a soaring space designed by the architect Kevin Roche. (Roche also designed the entrance stairs to the museum.) A large, sloping, glass wall floods the gallery with daylight. A reflecting pool invites you to toss a penny into the water and make wish. You can walk over to  the little Temple of Dendur and explore it inside and out.

At the end of our visit, we will walk through the lobby toward the main entrance. Drop your little metal Metropolitan buttons into the recycling box.

Outside, as you stand at the top of the grand stairway at the entrance to the Met, you may hear some music, some jazz musicians entertaining the crowd.

You can sit down on the steps and listen for a while. When you are finally ready to leave, you can walk down the steps and catch the Fifth Avenue bus home. 

When you get home, don't forget to put your "Matching Game" postcards on your art wall. They will be the beginning of your own art collection, and remind you of your exciting art tour of the Impressionists at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

How to Play the "Matching Game"

You will find some postcard reproductions of the paintings in the permanent collections in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's store. Select a few of your favorite art works and then hunt for them in the galleries. (You can pick up a map of the Museum at the Information Desk to guide your search. Also, check there for a list of daily events and special activities for children.)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is open on weekdays and Sundays, from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, and until 9:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. It is closed on Mondays.