Message in a Backpack™ Family Field Trips: Museums
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Visiting museums and other local sites can be a great way to learn something new, explore interests, and have fun.
Don’t let museums overwhelm you. You do not have to be an expert in art, science, or history to take advantage of all that museums offer. They are places for looking, learning, and instilling a sense of wonder.
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Check out the museum online and choose a focus—an object or exhibit that speaks to your child’s interests: a rainforest environment, space exploration, a history of dolls.
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Ask open-ended questions and encourage careful looking. A great starting point—“What do you see?”
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Bring a toy related to the focus you select—a train car to a transportation exhibit or a T. rex when visiting reconstructed dinosaur skeletons.
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Make movement part of the fun—suggest that your child strike a pose imitating a sculpture, rotate like the Earth, or walk like an animal he’s observing.
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Bring paper and colored pencils to the exhibit—most museums allow visitors to sit and draw, so your child can draw away!
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Use your imagination. The meaning of many objects is subjective, so you and your child can make up your own story.
- Suggest that your child make her own collection! She can search for rocks, bottle caps, seed pods, or other objects of interest, and create an at-home display.
Message in a Backpack™ is available online in Spanish. Visit NAEYC.org/tyc to start reading now!
