Scavenger hunt at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Lists can be simple pictures and directions.

The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, MO might be Kansas City’s best kept secret. The Nelson houses thousands of works of art spanning thousands of years of history with new exhibits opening each season. It can be a little daunting to bring a large family with young children into such a large and fragile place but it is, perhaps, the most fascinating place in Kansas City. And it is free! 

Due to the vast size of The Nelson, it is difficult to see every exhibit with young children in tow. However, making the visit exciting and kid-friendly can help children remain interested and engaged. One way to do that is to create a scavenger hunt. Children can focus their energy on searching for items as you enjoy the exhibits together. The Nelson is a large place and seeing every exhibit can take all day so it is best to create your hunts within specific collections. Not only will you keep the length of your visit controlled, you will be able to return many times and introduce your children to new exhibits and collections each visit.

Create your scavenger hunt by visiting the gallery's website. There you will find a basic listing of the museum's collections. Choose a collection and begin browsing the selected works for the items on your scavenger hunt. The gallery's website shows images of the selected works along with information on the artist, genre, medium, and description of the piece.

Scavenger hunts can be tailored to children of all ages. Young children who cannot yet read will find great joy in searching for simple images you have hand-drawn such as a flower or a rainbow while elementary-aged children can search for shapes, colors and specific image descriptions. Older children can search for specific painters, styles and named pieces. To create the lists, write or draw the clues based on the images shown on the gallery's website. Be creative and keep your child's interests in mind when looking through the collection. If it interests them they will be excited to search for it!

Going on a scavenger hunting tour of the Nelson will keep young children interested in the exhibits and allow them to study the pieces of art as they look for the various items on their lists. As they search out their items, further engage them by posing questions about the works of art. Ask them why they think the artist chose to paint a rose rather than a puppy or what makes a painting special enough to hang in a museum. Your children will learn more about the great pieces of art and you will spend wonderful quality time together. Happy Hunting!