Tips for Family Visits

Here are some suggestions for making your family's visit to the Taft Museum of Art more enjoyable:

• Strollers are permitted, but because you'll be in a historic house, you won't be able to bring the following into the galleries:
  • Bottles
  • Food or drinks
  • Toys
  • Backpacks or diaper bags 
• Talk about museum manners before you visit:
  • Although people no longer live here, the Taft Museum of Art is still a home for the art collected by Mr. and Mrs. Taft. It's important to act as you would when visiting someone else's home. Look with your eyes, not with your hands. We want to make sure that others can enjoy this beautiful house and the great art.
  • There are other visitors in the house, so use "inside" voices.
  • It's easy to get excited in such a beautiful place, but there are many fragile pieces of art that are not in frames or cases. Walk, don't run, and stay together.
• Pick up one of our Family Gallery Guides at the greeter's desk on the second floor. You can also download them from our web site.
• If you choose not to use one of our Family Gallery Guides, you can begin a discussion by asking "What do you see?" and take it from there.
• Pick your own theme for your visit. Focus on what your child or children already know: colors, places, clothing, animals, trees, the weather.
• There are no right or wrong answers. Challenge yourself and your family members to give reasons in support of your responses.
• Your child (and/or you) wants to draw or sketch? Great! You can use pencils but not pens.
• Feel free to sit on the floor in the larger spaces such as the Music Room and the Longworth Foyer.
• Don't feel that you have to look at everything. There's a lot to see in every room, so you might want to focus on one or two at a time.
• If you need an action break, Lytle Park is across the street and is a great play space. Visit the statue of Abraham Lincoln, funded by Anna and Charles Taft.
• If your family gets hungry, the Lindner Café at the Museum offers a kid-friendly menu.
• Talk about your visit at home. And be sure to come back!