Museum Detective

About 60 minutes, indoors, for ages 8 to 10.

Where it works

Works in any indoor space

Who it's for

ages 8 to 10

Try this adventure now:

  • a painting or picture with people in it
  • a sculpture taller than you
  • something behind glass
  • a sign with a date on it
  • something you think is very old
  • something made of metal

Today's Challenge

  1. 1.Which piece would you want in your room?
  2. 2.What is the oldest thing you found?
  3. 3.What made you stop and look longer than the rest?

Quick Start: What you need

  • 1pencil

The Goal

Turn any museum visit into an observation game, no matter what kind of museum it is.

How to start

  1. 1

    Gather what you need: pencil. Nothing else required.

  2. 2

    Head indoors and see how many you can find: a painting or picture with people in it, a sculpture taller than you, something behind glass, a sign with a date on it.

  3. 3

    Talk about what you are seeing. Start with "Which piece would you want in your room?"

  4. 4

    Print the worksheet to check things off as you find them, and keep it afterwards.

Sketch Your Favorite

Draw the piece you liked best below, from memory if you can.

Some museum paintings are insured for more money than entire buildings.

If you want to push it further

  • Find the smallest object on display
  • Guess what something is before reading its sign

Print it and go

The worksheet has the checklist, the prompts, and a space to draw in. One page, ready for a bag or a glovebox.

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