When my kids were little, I often took them to museums. Their favorites were the Boston Children’s Museum and the Museum of Science where they would go with our dear friend, Mr. Bob. Mr. Bob had a membership to the science museum and would treat them to chicken fingers, fries, and chocolate milk after. They loved it! There were never any complaints going to those two places.
On weekends or holidays, I would get passes from our local library and take them to explore new places across the Greater Boston area. The DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum was a favorite for them and for me. We could enjoy inside, and they could run around and play outside.
As young kids, they mostly found museums boring and grew impatient quickly. I made up little songs to hype them up on the way there and peppered them with questions about their experience on the ride back. Often, I was met with one-word answers and would have to pull out of them their top three things from the experience. It was like an oral reflection paper.
I knew I was planting seeds and it would take time before they germinate. It wasn’t until our visit to the Norman Rockwell Museum three years ago that I realized the seeds had turned into plants. They spent time admiring every artifact, reading every description, reflecting, chatting with my husband and me with and each other. When it was time to leave, our son did not want to leave. I was secretly happy but did not want to show it.
As we walked out, my boy said “thank you, Manmie, for taking us to museums when we were little.” I never thought I would hear those words and certainly not from a teenager. I gave him a big mama kiss.
Arts and culture help us connect to the world, see history with different lenses, see the humanity in others and experience the natural world differently while challenging our multiple intelligences. We can travel through space and time with little effort.
As older kids, they now go to museums by themselves without any prompting. The small plants are growing into trees.
