Culture
Cultured Kids: Fun Ways To Get Little Ones Learning About Art
Most art museums aren’t exactly kid-friendly, but these cultural institutions around the world welcome children with open arms – and engaging programmes made just for them
If you’re wondering how to get your kids interested in and excited about art, you are asking the wrong questions. Children are naturally creative and keen to explore the creative output of others – the challenge is nurturing their interest in art within institutions that were not created with their needs in mind. Nothing takes the fun out of little ones’ uninhibited enthusiasm faster than the stern shush of a grim museum guard or an inconvenienced opera patron.
Thankfully, family programmes, children’s events and youth workshops have become increasingly common at arts and culture institutions all over the world. Here are some of the most innovative, interactive and engaging offerings for children of all ages.
At The Museum: Discover Visual Art
Art museums could make ideal indoor playgrounds: they are filled with a variety of colours, textures, shapes and sometimes even moving images and sounds. The paintings, drawings, sculptures and other artworks on display are sure to depict something your kid is interested in, from exotic landscapes and wild animals to princesses or dinosaurs. Here’s the catch: children love to run, shout and, above all, they like to explore by touching. All of the above are frowned upon in museums, but the right activities can help focus the attention of even the wildest bundle of energy.
Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum offers a digitally supported family scavenger hunt, as well as a variety of tours and workshops that allow young visitors to get a hands-on introduction to specific artworks, styles, techniques and even the real history behind the people and events depicted in the galleries.
[Copyright: © Rijksmuseum]
In Munich, Museum Brandhorst’s Open Factory offers a programme focused on selected themes and techniques connected to the museum’s artists, where kids can draw, paint, print or even dance to bring the colours and shapes hung on the walls to life in their own way.
The Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, Colorado, has taken this approach one step further, allowing the children to become not only artists but also curators. In September 2025, the museum’s second exhibition co-curated by kids will open to the public, highlighting their view of the art and sharing their perspective in accompanying gallery texts. The museum also holds regular “art crawls”, where infants up to 14 months old are invited to explore the space and interact with materials that spark their interest.
[Copyright: © Valentin Penninger/Clara Höfs, Courtesy of Museum Brandhorst]
At The Sculpture Park: Explore 3D Art
If expending energy is essential to everyone’s enjoyment of a family outing, then head to a sculpture park instead. Here, kids can explore art and the great outdoors without having to be quiet. Everyone gets some exercise and a dose of fresh air, and touching the artworks is sometimes allowed, often even encouraged.
At Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Northern England, there’s a natural creative play space designed to inspire imaginations, and kids can even build their own outdoor sculptures in playful workshops.
In Upstate New York, Storm King Art Center rents out Young Explorer backpacks filled with a variety of navigational and observational tools and self-guided activities to accompany them as they roam the landscape and discover the sculptures.
In the Netherlands, about an hour outside Amsterdam, the Kröller-Müller Museum is all about gamification, with a series of themed detective games and a geocaching route through its sculpture park.
[Copyright: © Yorkshire Sculpture Park]
At The Ballet: Appreciate Dance
Dancing comes naturally to most kids. Sitting still and watching others dance, not so much. If your little one is entranced by the graceful beauty of ballet dancers and you want them to experience a professional production, make sure to pick the right piece (look no further than the classic trifecta of The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella).
The Australian Ballet provides age recommendations for all its regular productions and specifically lists child-friendly shows. They also put on Storytime Ballet, featuring interactive narrated performances “for the next generation of dance enthusiasts”.
London’s Royal Ballet and Opera don’t just stage family-friendly productions and run backstage tours, they also throw open the doors of the Royal Opera House for Family Sundays, with informal performances from dancers and musicians, interactive singing or dance workshops, live theatre craft or stage combat demonstrations, and upcycling activities led by in-house creatives.
In New York, the American Ballet Theatre’s ABTKids shows at the Lincoln Center are accompanied by pre-performance workshops, where little ones learn choreography they will later see performed on stage by professional dancers (no previous ballet training necessary).
[Left: © Kate Longley, Courtesy of The Australian Ballet / Right: © London’s Royal Ballet and Opera]
At The Opera: Marvel At Dramatic Music
Much like ballet, the opera is unlikely to leave any child cold, but expecting kids to sit still and simply absorb an entire performance is a bit much to ask. Context is important, so help them understand the history of the art form and the story of the piece in advance.
Richard Wagner isn’t exactly the first name that springs to mind when thinking of child-friendly musical entertainment, but that hasn’t stopped the Bayreuth Festival, dedicated to the German composer, from presenting child-friendly versions of Wagner’s epic operas since 2009. For the 2025 festival, his Tannhäuser will receive the “Children’s Opera” treatment: the libretto is condensed, the story simplified, and the show enhanced with relatable elements, playful costumes and stage design. One thing that isn’t downsized? The production quality. Performances by the Brandenburg State Orchestra and singers from the festival’s main stagings let the young audience experience a bite-sized version of the real thing.
In Milan, young guests have the opportunity to experience the splendour of the ornate Teatro alla Scala for the symbolic price of one euro. The “Great Performances for Children and Families” programme includes new compositions and child-friendly productions of titles from the repertoire. The theatre also offers “family boxes”; minors accompanied by adults can book four-seat boxes at a discounted price, where children have more freedom of movement without bothering people in adjoining seats.
In Vienna, the Opera House offers young music lovers an entire venue to call their own. NEST is a miniature opera house, complete with an orchestra pit hosting world premieres of operas for children and young people, as well as experimental and immersive productions and workshops.
[Left: © Teatro Alla Scala / Right: © Opera House]
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