Special Events Scheduled, Along with Ongoing Weekday & Weekend Drop-in Sessions
(New York, December 29, 2005) – The Metropolitan Museum of Art today announced its schedule of weekday and weekend activities for children up to age 12 and their adult companions, including a weekly program for Spanish-speaking families, for the period February 1-May 30, 2006 – along with a calendar of special family programs during the mid-winter school recess and on selected weekends and "Holiday Mondays." These drop-in programs are free with Museum admission, and all materials are provided.
On weekends and "Holiday Mondays," and during the mind-winter school recess, the Museum's special family greeters in bright red aprons welcome families in the
Great Hall, answer questions about the Metropolitan 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.
Special Family Events
· Argento Puppet Company: The Battle of Orlando and Rinaldo for the Love of Angelica – Saturday and Sunday, February 18 and 19, 1:00-2:00 p.m. and 3:00-4:00 p.m. A performance of traditional Sicilian puppet theater, appealing to all ages, based on Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato and featuring the famous knights I Paladini di Francia. The audience is limited to 250 persons, on a first-come basis.
· Holiday Monday Family Programs, Monday, February 20 and May 29, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., 12:00 p.m. –1:00 p.m., 1:15-2:15 p.m., and 2:30-3:30 p.m. – an hour of stimulating discussion and sketching of the Museum's masterpiec3s, for youngsters ages five through 12.
· A Mid-Winter Recess' Dream – Tuesday-Friday, February 21-24, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. A gallery program for visitors ages five through 12 and accompanying adults to welcome them to the Museum's collection through discussions and sketching. Each day the program focuses on works of art in the Museum related to one of the questions: Who? What? Where? How?
· Curator Contact: Kim Benzel and Supernatural Creatures from the Ancient Near East – Saturday, March 4, 6:00-7:00 p.m. Through conversation and sketching, families will explore images of supernatural creatures featured in the art of the ancient near East. This program is part of the Charles H. Tally Art Evenings for Families series.
· How Did They Do That? Supplementing the Look Again! morning program, these 30-minute sessions, running from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. show families, through handling tools and materials, how a particular work of art was created. African Masks will be featured on Saturday and Sunday, February 11 and 12; Precolumbian Goldwork will be featured on Saturday and Sunday, March 18 and 19; Renaissance Sculpture and The Vélez Blanco Patio will be featured on Saturday and Sunday, April 22 and 23.
· Picture This! Family Program: A Workshop for Families with Children who are Blind or Partially Sighted – In Touch with Animals, on Saturday, April 8, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m., will take participants on a tour of the Museum's artwork to visit a variety of animals, from birds and bears to cats and crocodiles – and also create animals of their own. Some works of art may be touched; others are explored through detailed description. Advance registration is required. For further information, call 212-879-5500m ext. 3561 or email access@metmuseum.org.
· Cine Infantil Latinoamericano/Latin American Films for Children. Animated films, presented in conjunction with the 7th Havana Film Festival, will be screened in the Museum's Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium on Saturday, April 22, 1:15p.m.-1:50 p.m. Shown in Spanish, with English subtitles, will be Navidad Caribeña/Caribbean Christmas (Uruguay, 2001); Tachuela, Varilla y Lechuga, (Uruguay, 2003); and La Hormiguita-Mata/the Small Ant Plant (Cuba, 1998).
Ongoing Programs, February 1-May 30
Ongoing programs designed especially for kids and their adult companions are:
· Start with Art at the Met, an hour of storytelling, sketching, and other ways of exploring art, for children up to age seven and their adult friends. This program meets five times a week: 2:30-3:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays (extended through May 30); 3:30-4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays; 4:00-5:00 p.m. on Fridays; and 10:00-11:00 a.m. on Saturdays.
· Look Again! , for ages five through 12, a 90-minute exploration of the history, meaning, and cross-cultural connections of works of art in the Museum through conversation and sketching. This program meets three times a week: 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2:00-3:30 p.m. on Saturdays (no afternoon classes on February 11, March 18, and April 22); and 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Sundays. From time to time, live performances enhance this Museum adventure.
· Charles H. Tally Art Evenings for Families, an encounter with the Museum's collection through conversation and sketching, for ages six through 12. This program meets Saturdays, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
· Hello, Met! , a stimulating introduction to the Museum and its encyclopedic collection for new and first-time visitors, ages five through 12, through discussion and sketching of some of its masterpieces. A short film may be viewed prior to this program, which meets Sundays, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
· El Primer Contacto con el Arte, a Spanish-language program for ages six through 12, featuring discussion and sketching activities focusing on a different theme and area of the Museum each week. This program meets Saturdays, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. (with the exception of April 15). Advance registration is required. For further information, call 212-650-2833.
· Discoveries, workshops for children and adults with developmental and learning disabilities, and accompanying friends, family members, and staff. This program meets on scheduled Sundays. Advance registration is required. For further information, call 212-879-5500, ext. 3561.
· For families with deaf members the Museum offers Sign Language interpretation of a family program one Saturday each month. For further information, call 212-879-5500, ext. 3561, or TTY 212-570-3828.
Family Activities at The Cloisters
· Gallery Workshops for Families at The Cloisters, hour-long programs for children ages four through 12 and accompanying adults at The Cloisters, the branch of the Metropolitan Museum devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe, located in upper Manhattan. Special gallery tours and art-making activities will be offered 1:00-2:00 p.m. on Saturdays, January 7 and 21, February 4 and 18, March 4 and 18, and April 1 and 22.
· Stained Glass! How Did They Do That? , a special program during the weekend of May 27-28, will illustrate, through the handling of tools and materials, how stained glass was crafted in the Middle Ages. This program will be presented in 30-minute drop-in sessions between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
MuseumKids Web Page
Prior to visiting the Metropolitan Museum, families can log onto the MuseumKids page of the Museum's website. This easy-to-navigate web page, located at http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/museumkids.htm, features a whole array of information and activities for children, under the headings "Things to Do When Visiting" and "For Kids to Try Right Now!" Online visitors can learn more about special family programs; create their own "My Met Calendar," a customized listing of events and subjects of special interest; sign up to receive weekly email notices of upcoming programs and events based on their preferences; or pre-plan an excursion to the Metropolitan Museum. In addition, children can play interactive art games and experience art firsthand through activities in the "Explore & Learn" section, or find the answers to such frequently asked questions as "How many pieces of art are in the Museum?" and "What are the colored buttons used for?"
Family Audio Guide Tours
The Museum's Family Audio Guide, ideal for children ages six through 12 and their families, now includes commentary for younger visitors about more than 140 works of art. In addition, there will be a Family Audio Guide for the special exhibition Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh, which will be on view March 28-July 9. Families can proceed at their own pace, listen to the commentaries in any order they choose, and keep the guides for the duration of their visit. Featured works are in the galleries of The American Wing, arms and armor, ancient Near Eastern art, Islamic art, arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas, Asian art (including Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and South and Southeast Asian), Egyptian art, European Old Masters, European sculpture and decorative arts, medieval and Byzantine art, 19th-century art, modern art, and musical instruments. The Audio Guide is priced at $6.00 for the general public, $5.00 for Metropolitan Museum members, and $4.00 for children under 12. Family Audio Guide maps are available free of charge at the Audio Guide desk in the Great Hall.
At The Cloisters, the Family Audio Guide provides 25 stops of destinations ideal for children six to 12 and their families – including gardens, tapestries, choirstalls, and tombs.
Family-friendly Dining at the Metropolitan Museum
Every restaurant at the Museum welcomes children, but "the cafeteria," which opened in the summer of 2003, is particularly family friendly. Booster seats and high chairs are provided, and the menu features a selection of five special meals for children under 12 years of age – chicken fingers, pasta, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, plus whole fruit and milk or juice – priced at $4.95 each and served in a unique, three-dimensional tray, designed to look like a New York City taxi.
A Catalogue Just for Kids
The special Children's Shop located on the second floor of the Museum is a noted resource for high-quality items for kids of all ages – including art activity kits, art supplies, stuffed toys, kids' jewelry, puppets, puzzles, games, play figures, books, CDs, and videos. A MetKids catalogue also offers an exciting array of products designed to help children of all ages learn, develop skills, and grow. Many of the items are based on works in the Museum's collections, opening a door to the world of art, ancient cultures, history, music, and even the Museum itself; others expand on the Museum's educational and outreach programs; and all are intended to help children discover their own creativity, individuality, and power of imagination.
Off-Site Programs for Family Groups
The Metropolitan Museum also presents slide talks accompanied by art and writing workshops to groups of families and young people in after-school programs, libraries, and community centers throughout New York City. This program, called Meet the Met: The Offsite Program for Families and Young People, is free and is offered in many languages. Sign Language interpretation can also be provided. For further information, call 212-396-5051.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers a Dual/Family Membership for $175.00 that includes free admission for one year for two adults, as well as children of these members through the age of 16, to the Museum's main building and The Cloisters, including all special exhibitions. It also includes a discount of 10% on Museum merchandise, announcements of exclusive subscription programs for children, members-only lectures and preview invitations, and summer weekend use of the Trustees Dining Room.
Baby strollers are permitted during public hours and in some temporary exhibitions. Visitors can check at the Information Desk for those exhibitions that permit baby strollers. Back carriers are available for borrowing in the coat-check areas located at the 81st Street and 82nd Street entrances.
The galleries of The Metropolitan Museum of Art are wheelchair accessible. Wheelchair users should enter the Museum through the 81st Street entrance.
For further information on family programs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, call 212-570-3961.
Family programs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art are supported by: Uris Brothers Foundation Endowment, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Marvin H. Schein, May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc., Pat and John Rosenwald Fund, Aronson Endowment Fund, Staten Island Advance, and The Roberta & Allan Weissglass Foundation, Inc.
Access programs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art are made possible by MetLife Foundation. Access programs are also made possible by the generous support of the Filomen M. D'Agostino Foundation. Additional support has been provided by the Sarah K. deCoizart Article Tenth Perpetual Charitable Trust, The Ceil & Michael E. Pulitzer Foundation, Inc., the Renate, Hans & Maria Hofmann Trust, the Sunny and Abe Rosenberg Foundation, the Allene Reuss Memorial Trust, and the Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation.
Met Holiday Mondays are sponsored by Bloomberg.
El Primer Contacto con el Arte is made possible, in part, by The Goodman Memorial Foundation.
Meet the Met is made possible by the Altman Foundation, the Ann Eden Woodward Foundation, the Samuel and Rae Eckman Charitable Foundation, Inc., The Murray G. and Beatrice H. Sherman Charitable Trust, and the Thanksgiving Foundation.
Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is made possible by Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman. The exhibition is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency. The exhibition at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco/deYoung is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
The Audio Guide program at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is sponsored by Bloomberg.
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