How to Turn a Museum Visit Into a Fun Learning Experience for Kids

Our family vacation plans always include at least one trip to some kind of museum such as an art museum or historical museum. Museums are not only a great way to learn about a city or region's history in a short amount of time, they help bring to life some of the lessons our children have learned in school.

The challenge of visiting a museum is making the experience fun for your kids instead of "feeling like school." Here are a few of the ways my husband and I made museum visits fun for our children.

Be selective 

It's a fact that some museums aren't as kid friendly as others. Our family always made a point of visiting museums with a broad kid appeal and interactive displays. Science and technology museums are usually winners, so are military and transportation museums, natural history museums, and "niche" museums that zero in on a specific subject that your child finds interesting (such as music, sic-fi, dinosaurs, trains, etc).

Don't ignore the kid's galleries 

Museums have become more kid-friendly in recent years with galleries filled with costumes and other hands-on activities specifically geared for kids. You'll discover that children will enjoy their visit more (and learn more too!) if they are given time to play in these areas. We always allotted at least 30-60 minutes of playtime in the children's galleries with each adult taking turns supervising.

Pick up a scavenger hunt at the front desk 

Almost all large museums have some sort of question-and-answer activity that kids can fill out during their museum visit. These activities not only give your children something to do, it encourages them to give a closer look at the exhibits on display in a way that's fun. These question-and-answer forms can often be presented for extra credit once school starts in the fall.

Don't overdo it 

Kids have limited energy and tromping through a museum for a full day is more than most kids can manage. We discovered that small children (ages 7 and under) can usually handle a visit of an hour, grade school kids can manage 1-2 hours, with tweens and teens going for 3-4 hours (providing that the museum is one that interests them). Carving out a bit of time for a snack and a short break is also important since tired and hungry kids are often cranky ones.

It's been our experience that many kids do enjoy their visits to a museum as long as the subject is interesting and the parents don't try to cram in too much sightseeing in the day. These four tips will make the museum experience a fun one for both you and your children.