I took my six month old baby son to the Heroes and Monsters exhibition at Manchester City Art Gallery. The staff were helpful and enthusiastic as ever with the whole experience complimented by a trail guide. The colours and images brought art to life and my son loudly gave his first review (loudly waving his arms, smiling and making loud noises). A great family experience!
Mike Amesbury
© Tate Britain
February 19th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
I think it’s great that museums are providing for its youngest visitors. I work in a nursery with children aged between 6 and 18 months. It is a brilliant age for exploration, especially sensory activities where they get to touch, taste and see new objects. I think there is a lot of potential for museums to cater for young babies and toddlers with regards to workshops and activities that parents can share with their children. The Heroes and Monsters exhibition sounds like it was fun for all the family!
April 8th, 2011 at 10:34 pm
Babies should be allowed into all museums as young parent do want to enjoy the same privileges as any other person. Yes i agree for those who do not have babies any crying baby might be slightly annoying.
June 20th, 2011 at 10:24 pm
Recently took my 3 and 1 year old charges to the science museum. The pattern pod and garden areas (hands on bits for kids) kept both of them entertained for hours. The baby in particular really responded to the pattern pod area. Strongly reccomended for the very young, just wait for the gaps between school parties or the little ones are at risk of being trampled!
June 29th, 2011 at 7:53 am
We welcome babies and young children. Parents/ guardians with babies and youngsters need to be welcomed and ‘facilitated’ in public spaces and places.
June 29th, 2011 at 8:01 am
Slightly annoying?
Persistent crying babies are painfully excruciatingly annoying.
However, I assume they are also annoying for the parents too. So I grit my teeth or/and leave the room, at least I can! The parent is stuck with it.
I think/hope that most child free people do understand that people with babies have to go out. We also understand that babies are not automata and cannot be controlled.
June 30th, 2011 at 2:13 pm
I love taking my two sons to museums, and have done since they were babies. (They are now 6 and 1 and a half). They find the visits stimulating, they absorb more than you think, and they get used to those environments. It’s enjoyable for me too.I write a column on being a Dad and this week happens to be about a trip to a museum. http://thelatest.co.uk/homes/distracted-dad-101
July 11th, 2011 at 3:23 pm
So pleased to see this as a discussion thread! Across Manchester, we are currently developing programmes, activities and a national event exploring how museums and galleries might work with and encourage babies (0-2 year olds) and their parents and carers to visit and participate. Culturebaby: bringing together research, performance and practice with 0-2 year olds will take place on Wednesday 23 November at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester (more info and details to follow in late summer). So please let us know if you’ve come across particularly brilliant work in this area, heard inspiring people talk about their experiences with babies/toddlers and culture or if you have strong opinions about what we should be thinking about and exploring when developing work with the very young. Thanks.
August 19th, 2011 at 11:34 pm
I visited the Courtauld Gallery in London this week with my children, aged 3 years and 7 months. We left shortly after arriving because -despite staff being very helpful and accomodating- people in the gallery looked at us in horror and gave us annoyed looks constantly. They were also quite rude whenever we asked them to move in order to enter a new room. Not sure if this had to do with the difficulty of negotiating narrow corridors with a pram, something that I wasn’t particularly bother about. I felt rather discriminated, as if those of us who decide to have children should instantly give up on enjoying art galleries.