Every week you can enjoy a day of family fun with Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville’s Family Free Sundays, sponsored by Bank of America. You can enjoy the museum at no charge, play in the Art Explorium Loft, and participate in free classes for the whole family with their Sunday ArtFusion.
This weekend, my family and I went to explore the museum. Myself, my husband, my four-year-old son, and my two-year-old niece enjoyed a full two hours of fun at the Museum. We started off our experience in the galleries, talking with the kids about which pieces of art they liked best, and the colors, shapes, and subjects in some of their favorite pieces.
After making our way through all of the gallery spaces, we hopped on the elevator and went up to the 5th floor, which houses the Art Explorium Loft, studio classrooms, and educational department gallery space. We began by entering the studio classroom and exploring the fundamentals of paint. The actual project was to try to paint the negative (or empty) space around a chair that was set up on a table in the center of the room. Though the specifics of this project were a bit too technical for my little ones, they were encouraged to explore the medium of paint, which is a great first step in the learning process. They both LOVED the chance to get a little messy, learn about colors, and make a masterpiece of their own.
While our creations were left to dry on the racks in the studio, we took a walk through the educational gallery space on our way to the Art Explorium Loft. They have something for kids of all ages (even just kids at heart) in this truly engaging area. We made light sensitive images, built found object sculptures, and explored colors, shapes, and textures at the texture table, mobile building, and kaleidescope centers. The kids could have entertained themselves all day, but mom and dad were exhausted after about an hour.
We picked up our artwork from the studio and made our way downstairs to peruse the Museum store. We found local art, handcrafted jewelry, a plethora of books, and engaging and creative toys.
Even leaving the Museum was fun as the kids ran around “in the art” as my son put it. The iconic _____ sculpture outside the front entrance of the Museum is a beautiful addition to the Downtown landscape and a favorite for kids of all ages!
