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| - I went here over the weekend with my six year old son and 20 month old daughter. Apparently my son saw something on one of his cartoons (Regular Show to be specific) that made it cool to visit an art museum, so he requested I take him. Thank you, Cartoon Network!
I was a tiny bit apprehensive about how my toddler would do, but I packed them up and off we went! Parking was ample and as we entered we were immediately greeted by a gracious ticket clerk who patiently explained the different exhibits that the children would probably most enjoy: The Firefly room, the Blob and the Miniature Room were the top picks. He circled them all on the visitor map so we could easily find them. Our cost for admission was $22 ($15 for me and $7 for my son. My daughter was free.)
I'd also like to add that at no point did I get the impression from anyone that I wasn't welcome to visit with such wee kids. I secretly feared I'd get a stern warning that they were to be closely supervised to avoid touching things, kept from crying and disturbing the other patrons, no sippy cups/bottle in the exhibits halls, etc., but I wasn't given any preemptive admonishments or warnings about keeping them controlled and/or silent. Not that I'm the type to let my kids run free, screaming their heads off, but still, I hate it when someone warns me in advance about watching my kids.
So off we went to explore the museum, and I have to tell you that I am genuinely impressed! I am embarrassed to admit that I haven't been there since I was a grade school kid on a field trip... What can I say? I have been pretty busy for the last 25 years raising kids, holding down a full time job, and just generally surviving. But mark my words, I DO have culture (and NOT just the kind you treat with antibiotics) yet, sadly, getting to the Phoenix Art Museum had fallen too far down on my list of adult priorities. Well not any longer my friends. Not any longer.
Let's start with the exhibits we saw. First we entered the Great Hall which was full of some really neat modern pieces, including the Firefly exhibit which BLEW my mind and left my toddler speechless; not that she really talks, but still... At first my six year old was too scared to enter the pitch black firefly exhibit, but I finally grabbed his arm and dragged him in and suddenly he was entranced by the sight and wandered about the room with his arms outstretched exclaiming wildly about how awesome it was. Let me give you a visitor tip, the Firefly Exhibit is tucked into a corner on the top floor off the Great Hall. It is very easy to walk right by and it's not well labeled , but if you are near the exhibit with the suspended cube of burned timbers then you are in the right neck of the woods.
Downstairs we saw The Blob, which my son and daughter went nuts for. I can't explain it except to compare it to the cartoon character 'Annoying Orange'... It's pretty funny! After that we darted outside into the grassy courtyard to soak up the sun and give my daughter a chance to get out her wiggles and have a sippy cup of milk. The courtyard was a nice, open air place for the kids to romp. It is also attached to a café that is entered from within the museum.
After that we stopped over at the kids hands-on art room, which surprisingly wasn't at all interesting to me and the wall art focused far too strongly on the relation of math principals and modern art but my son and daughter really liked the chance to color and touch stuff. Then we scooted through the early Masters exhibits (at a muffled run) which *I* really liked and would have spent more time enjoying, but the baby's patience was starting to wear thin, so we quickly hit the Miniature Room which was very cool and highly detailed, and then beat a hasty retreat to the exit. We got out of there just as the baby was about to have a nap-deprivation meltdown. (Timing: When you have a toddler it IS everything!)
In conclusion: The Phoenix Art Museum is a lot bigger than I remember it being back in the late 1970's and the exhibits are varied, beautiful and fascinating. I highly suggest taking an afternoon and checking it out. If you have a little one like me, you may want to find a babysitter, or time it after their nap, but make SURE you do check out the Firefly Room.
PS: Wednesday nights and First Friday's are FREE to visit! Yay for free
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