Take a fall weekend to explore museums in a smaller city near your home and you’ll be amazed at what you find; especially if you let the kids lead the way. 

But touring a museum with kids – especially young ones – is an entirely different experience than what you might have anticipated, whether it is a children’s museum like the one in Indianapolis or the Smithsonian.

Whether you are headed to a large museum or small, here are eight tips to up the fun quotient:

1. Take a virtual tour with the kids before you go. Many museums now have websites just for kids that serve as a great introduction to the exhibits. Tell the kids they need to reveal one fun fact they’ve learned when you get to the exhibit they most want to visit.

2. Make sure everyone has a say in what you will see. Divide and conquer, if necessary, with adults taking different-aged kids in different directions.

3. Give up the notion of seeing the entire museum and spend more time at the areas that captivate the kids’ attention.

4. Make sure the kids are well fed and rested. Make sure everyone is wearing comfortable shoes too!

5. Stop at the information desk and see if there are any special family activities scheduled or discovery rooms that are open where hands-on activities are offered. Ready to dress up like a frog?

6. Play the “what if” game when you arrive. What if you get separated? Make sure the kids know to approach someone in a museum uniform and explain that they’ve “lost” their parents. Make sure they have a card in their pocket with your full name (young kids might be apt to say your name is “mommy” or “daddy” and your cell phone number.) With older kids who don’t have a cell phone, make a time and place to meet in case you get separated.

7. Stop in the gift shop and buy a few post cards of the museum’s treasures so that you can have a scavenger hunt as you explore the museum.

8. Leave when the kids have had enough. The museum will be there on your next visit.

Courtesy of www.takingthekids.com

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