(NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 3)—Children and their families are invited to travel back in time to 18th -century France during The Metropolitan Museum of Art's special Adventures in French Art! weekend, Friday evening, November 19, through Sunday afternoon, November 21. With the Museum's European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Galleries as a focal point, each drop-in program throughout the weekend will illuminate the grand lifestyle of the period through an examination of the richly decorated furnishings on view. Many of the programs, which are free of charge for children with accompanying adults, will be enhanced by storytellers, demonstrations, or live performances of music and dance that 18th -century French audiences might have seen and heard.
The special weekend is made possible by the Sunny & Abe Rosenberg Foundation, in memory of Michael Rosenberg.
In Rooms Worth a View, Friday evening, 6:00-7:00 p.m., children ages 6-12 will explore, through discussion and sketching activities, typical social and private spaces of the era. An additional feature will be the performance of woodwind music of the 18th century. This program is part of the Museum's Charles H. Tally Lecture Series for Families.
The subject of the 90-minute program Look Again!, Saturday, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m., will be Take a Seat – an examination of different types of chairs from the 18th century, with further cultural context provided by a storyteller. This program is designed for children ages 5-12.
Supplementing the morning program will be Royal Rooms: How Did They Do That? – a series of 30-minute drop-in sessions repeated from 1:00-4:00 p.m., featuring a work station in the period rooms where young visitors are introduced to materials and tools used to make works of art while an educator explains how furniture was made.
French Lords and Ladies will be the theme of Saturday's Art Evening for Families, 6:00-7:00 p.m. The session will include discussion, art-making activity, and story telling about the lifestyle of French nobility.
Sunday's schedule will include Rooms Worth a View in the Look Again! series, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m., featuring a historical dancer and accompanying musician; Royal Rooms: How Did They Do That?, 30-minute drop-in sessions repeated from 1:00-4:00 p.m., featuring a work station in the period rooms where young visitors are introduced to materials and tools used to make works of art while an educator explains how furniture was made; and Hello, Met!, 2:00-3:00 p.m., an introductory program for children ages 5-12 who are unfamiliar with the Metropolitan Museum, that will focus on works in the collection from 18th-century France.
The Metropolitan Museum has created a new family guide, Rococo Fantasy: French Eighteenth-Century Art, in conjunction with this special series of themed weekend events. Available free of charge, the guide allows children and families to explore on their own the art and culture of 18th-century France in the Museum's collection.
Visitors to the Museum with young children on Saturday and Sunday will be welcomed by one of the Metropolitan's special Family Greeters. Easily spotted in their bright red aprons, the greeters welcome families in the Great Hall, answer questions about the Museum, hand out printed self-conducted activity guides, and recommend art-related programs that the Museum offers free of charge for children and accompanying adults.
For further information on family programs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, call (212) 570-3961.
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