Monday at the Art Institute of Chicago

Yesterday, my family and I went to the Art Institute of Chicago. We spent four hours there with our teenage son and 8 year old daughter.  I was happily surprised that they were engaged for that long.

Tip #1: Get the audio guide.

Tip #2: Get a list of "must see". Their favourites were Seurat's Sunday at La Grande Jatte  and Grant Wood's iconic American Gothic


Tip#3 Visit the gift shop at the beginning and take a look at the art postcards. Also visit at the end to pick u a souvenir. There is always something funky and fun. We picked up some neat art and craft kits. I can't wait to use my artist finger puppets. I have Van Gogh, Dali, Kahlo and Monet all from a company called The Unemployed Philosopher's Guide.

Tip#4: Begin at kid friendly exhibits. In our case, we started at the Touch Gallery and the Miniature Gallery.
Tip#5 End at a high note. In our case, the kids were hungry. They got to choose where to eat. We didn't get to see everything. We missed the Modern Wing. Upon leaving, my daughter was visibly torn between leaving and finding the Golden Bird by Constantin Brancusi. Her interest was tweaked by a story she heard in the Kids section. She made us promise her that the next time we come we would see it.

I could have spent the entire day there. It was just the right amount of time.  Chicago is a manageable drive and even better on the train.  We'll be back.
drive...even better by train. We'll be back soon.