Should we visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum with kids?

Yes!

It’s an inspiring experience that’s tough to replicate without an expensive plane ticket to Europe.  

The museum sits quietly between Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts and the Muddy River with easy access by public transportation. Enter through the modern new addition with a nice café and a state-of-the-art performance space (and gorgeous bathrooms!). From here, you access a passageway that takes you into the original building. Pause. The inner courtyard is breathtaking.  

Roof of the pedestrian passage from the new wing to the original building

Even the bathroom is artistic!

Inner courtyard

There is plenty here to engage a curious 10-year-old or even a much younger child. The light is green; statues, archways, and colored tiles are everywhere. The outer garden contains a splendidly circuitous little path – just right for a toddler or restless adult. Above, two floors of art ring the courtyard. Each room is full of paintings, furniture, and curiosities around a theme.  Curious kids will probably need a quick “no touching” reminder on the way up the stairs.

Hidden statue in courtyard  

Outside - a circuitous path

Adults might want to linger in each room, taking in the details of the collection. A set of laminated sheets in each room describes the art on each wall in detail. You can also rent a headset for a private tour. Young kids will likely need to move more quickly, but the air is so thick with beauty that even a stroll between the galleries will fill a person with awe.

Colored tiles

In the new modern extension, there are two rooms where kids can touch and even make art after the visit. The first is called the Living Room. It’s full of modern chairs and comfy couches where docents engage visitors in art appreciation activities. The second is a called the Education Studio where kids and adults can actively create art. It’s a little messy. It’s a lot of fun.

The Living Room

The Education Studio

The gift shop is glorious as you would expect. Best of all, there’s a nice wall of postcards. For parents ready to really tackle and enjoy a museum visit with kids, why not start your visit at the wall of postcards!?! Let your child pick his 3-5 favorites and purchase them. Then, search out these works of art as you wander the halls slowly, comparing and contrasting the postcards to the art on display. Write, or help your child write, her reaction to the real statue or painting on the back of each card. For kids ready for a bit more, find a nice behind-the-scenes video series on the museum’s website.

Wall of Postcards

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
25 Evans Way, Boston MA, 02115
617-566-1401
information[at]isgm.org
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/

E. Ashley Steel is the co-author of “Family on the Loose: The Art of Traveling with Kids,” co-curator of www.familyontheloose.com, and the Traveling with Kids editor for Wandering Educators.