museum Archives - Page 4 of 7

December 13, 2014December 16, 2017

Liberty Science Center’s New Infinity Climber, Rubik’s Cube and Guitar Exhibit

While I did a more comprehensive review of taking the kids to the Liberty Science Center for a previous post, I was there recently and wanted to fill you in on some of the changes and new exhibits. The most exciting is the new Infinity Climber, which finished installation a few weeks ago. This “multi-story play space” is suspended 35 feet above the ground. It has 64 petal platforms (they look like lily pads), to climb on, taking you higher and lower. It’s surrounded by a net, which is stiff enough to keep you in, but not so stiff that it hurts.

The Infinity Climber is the world’s first suspended climbing space of its kind, and can fit 50 adults and children in there at one time. You have to be 42 inches or higher to go in. It’s great for groups to go in together. Continue reading “Liberty Science Center’s New Infinity Climber, Rubik’s Cube and Guitar Exhibit”

September 10, 2014September 11, 2023

9/11 Museum Review – Should You Take Kids?

This summer I went to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. I went without my kids because I wanted to see if it was appropriate for them, and also wanted the time to go through there without the pressure of “I want to leave!” “I’m hungry!” “Are you almost done?”

pool museum — You can see the museum in the background – it’s the lower building just above the treeline on the left/center.

I’ll get into details about tickets, timing etc. at the bottom, along with age issues. I’ll also save my grand overarching thoughts about the museum for the end, so if you’re just looking for that, scroll to the bottom area. First I’d like to lead you through the museum. Continue reading “9/11 Museum Review – Should You Take Kids?”

August 27, 2014August 31, 2016

Review: Jeff Koons Retrospective at the Whitney – Should you Bring Kids?

I had one thought when walking up to the Whitney Museum, to see the Jeff Koons’ retrospective. Thank God we were getting in via the corporate sponsor ticket line. That regular line snaked out the building and around the corner, and it was LONG. We only had to wait behind four people who were either members or also worked for corporate sponsors. The lesson here: if you aren’t either category, expect a long line.

I learned a bit about Jeff Koons during my modern art history college classes, but after going through this four story retrospective, I realized just how little I actually knew. Get the free audio guide (you can listen to parts of it here) or take a tour. The signage is good too, but it’s nice having a little extra information. The retrospective covers 1978 to present, with 150 objects on display.

The exhibit is broken up into sections based on his genre of work/time period. They were all quite different and diverse, and the way they organized it provides an excellent way to see his progression of art and what concepts he worked with at that time. The first section (The New) was the vacuum cleaner one – first picture on top. He was exploring the interaction between the viewer and the object, using only new vacuum cleaners that had the added anthropomorphic ability to express life/death, male/female (phallic bag/womb of suckage) etc. Not such an interesting gallery for us, I’ll say. Continue reading “Review: Jeff Koons Retrospective at the Whitney – Should you Bring Kids?”

February 13, 2014June 13, 2019

Philadelphia: 5 Ways to See the Barnes Foundation with Kids

–This is part of our series on Philadelphia with kids. See all the posts in the series at the bottom.–

I thought the Barnes Foundation wouldn’t be kid-friendly. Surprisingly, it was.

The museum is organized in a different kind of way, with each gallery containing ensembles – groups of pictures and utilitarian metal tools that looked decorative, designed to make you think about the art in unique ways, to see how they relate to each other. You won’t find only Renoirs in one room, or paintings from a certain time period displayed together. Plus there are no signs on the walls with the names and artists, nor any explanations at all on the walls. Many of the frames do have the artist’s name on them, though, if you look carefully. Find a gallery guide at the benches in each room.

Vincent van Gogh, Dutch, 1853–1890. The Postman (Joseph-Étienne Roulin), 1889. Photograph © 2012 The Barnes Foundation.

Barnes continually changed his ensembles around, and the displays you see are the same ones (in the same order) as when he died. He never wrote up explanations as to why they were put in those orders, nor is anyone sure what he hoped viewers would see in them. Continue reading “Philadelphia: 5 Ways to See the Barnes Foundation with Kids”

February 12, 2014August 31, 2016

Philadelphia: Mutter Museum with Kids

–This is part of our series on Philadelphia with kids. See all the posts in the series at the bottom.–

Let’s start out by saying this is not the Mutter Museum, pronounced like it looks. The “u” should have an umlaut over it – two dots next to each other. Say it like “Mooter Museum.” This museum was on my list to visit for a long time, and I figured the kids would find it strangely fascinating. They did, but they also found it unsettling enough that they sat out out a good portion of it because they couldn’t stomach looking through it all.

Of note, you can’t take pictures inside. These photos are all courtesy of the museum. Dr. Mutter collected these strange specimens to use in teaching. The museum is part of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

The Main Gallery of Philadelphia's Mütter Museum George Widman, 2009, for the Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia — The Main Gallery of Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum
George Widman, 2009, for the Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

When we first walked in Continue reading “Philadelphia: Mutter Museum with Kids”

February 10, 2014August 31, 2016

Philadelphia: National Museum of American Jewish History with Kids

–This is part of our series on Philadelphia with kids. See all the posts in the series at the bottom.–

We’ve been wanting to check out the National Museum of American Jewish History (which I still can’t say without having to look it up for accuracy) since it opened in its current form in 2010. Previously it shared space with Congregation Mikveh Israel (see the bottom for more on that), since its founding in 1976. This museum is on Independence Mall, just down the street from Mikveh Israel, and across from the Independence Mall Visitor’s Center. Continue reading “Philadelphia: National Museum of American Jewish History with Kids”

February 4, 2014August 28, 2017

Philadelphia: Magic Gardens

–This is part of our series on Philadelphia with kids. For more in the series, see the bottom of the post.–

My daughter and I were very excited to see Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, a nonprofit space that artist Isaiah Zagar created in an empty row house spot. It now extends inside the adjacent row house.

Unfortunately the day we showed up, we didn’t realize they were closing early for a wedding, so we had to make do with peeking through the gate, and walking around the neighborhood. The good news is that you can still see a lot even when it’s closed. And just by wandering around South Street, within a few blocks of the gardens, we could still see a lot of large scale murals. There’s a list in the brochure you can get on site and probably in other tourist locations as well.

magic2 — This mosaic mural was around the corner from the Magic Gardens.

I think the biggest question for us was Continue reading “Philadelphia: Magic Gardens”

November 22, 2013August 31, 2016

Review: JFK Library in Boston with Kids

Today is the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. I thought I’d commemorate the date with a look at his legacy, or at least his library. I visited the JFK Presidential Library and Museum last summer on my Boston trip.

The library opened in 1979, in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood. If it’s not on the University of Massachusetts Boston campus, it’s in the same area, and the bus takes you through the campus to get there. Originally it was supposed to be on the Harvard campus, but for a variety of reasons (including Cambridge residents not wanting in there!) they changed the location. The library was in planning from when JFK was president. At that time there were only 4 other presidential libraries. Continue reading “Review: JFK Library in Boston with Kids”

August 16, 2013December 16, 2017

Review: All Six Attractions in CityPASS Boston

I recently spent a week in Boston while my husband was at a conference and my kids were at camp. My goal was to do as much touring as possible (in addition to seeing some family and friends). Last time we were there as a family, we contemplated getting a CityPASS, which gives you admission into four attractions for about half the price of paying individually. We ended up not going that route last time, but CityPASS was kind enough to give me one to try this time (I liked it so much that I’m not an affiliate). Between the two trips, I’ve now been to all the attractions offered by CityPASS (four are included – and for one, you have a choice between a free visit to one of two museums, and a discount at the other). This is the first in a series on Boston.

Here’s a review of all the attractions.

Skywalk Observatory at the Prudential Center

While we tried to go to the Skywalk at the Prudential Center last trip, it was closed for a private function. And you’ll want to go on a clear day. I made it this time, and thought it would be very touristy, but I ended up loving it. It’s the tallest building in Boston (perhaps all of New England), at 50+ stories up. Included are audio tours for both kids and adults, and they were very informative. I ended up listening to both the kids’ tour and adult tour, in the name of research. The kids’ tour even gave information not always included in the adult tour. I learned a lot. Continue reading “Review: All Six Attractions in CityPASS Boston”

June 24, 2013August 28, 2017

Review: The Art of the Brick – LEGO at Discovery Times Square

While not an exhibit intended specifically for kids, The Art of the Brick definitely appeals to kids. And to adults too. The positive message extolling the virtues of art, and Nathan Sawaya’s optimism, “art can be anything” brings a fresh air to the exhibit. You can even be a successful artist like Sawaya, after going to law school and doing corporate mergers for several years. My son now wants to be a LEGO artist. Well, he did before too, but now he wants to even more.

See below for discount ticket information for the Art of the Brick.

The sign when you enter is probably the only thing in the exhibit NOT made of LEGOs (okay, the signs and tables aren’t LEGO either). Room after room continues to delight and surprise.

Opening the exhibit was the Paint by Bricks section Continue reading “Review: The Art of the Brick – LEGO at Discovery Times Square”