Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Indianapolis, IN

Art is in every corner of every city and every building in America. From the sterile reproductions in a hotel room to the curve of a sports car. It's training an eye to see such things that is the hard part.  Heading straight for the IMA with a  small one for their first exposure to art can prove a little tricky.  Start out in small galleries featuring art you know your child will relate to. A good place to start is the rotunda of White River Gardens. There is usually a themed display of various mediums. Last time I was there the theme was butterflies. It's not overwhelming, it's not stuffy, and it's a good place to start teaching art etiquette. Not touching, running or  yelling is much easier to teach in a rotunda than it is at the IMA with seven stalking docents right behind you.   Another great place to practice being nice to art is the ARTSPARK sculptural garden at the Indianapolis Art Center in Broad Ripple.
 
Keep the visits short and without pressure. Have your child tell you what he or she notices first, what's their favorite? Play and eye spy game of colors and shapes. When you feel that you can truly enjoy art on a larger scale with your child and not worry about knocking a priceless Degas of the wall, head on over to the IMA. If you are able, go online and print out a few paintings from the museum's online gallery. Paste them in a little notebook for your child to hunt down. Maybe start with just the contemporary floor on your first visit, then change the out collection and the pictures each time you visit.

Kids won't appreciate the age of or the skill that went into any particular painting. They'll like the paint splatters on Uncle Leo's overalls as much as they'll like a Pollack. But getting them to notice is your job. When they notice something ask them why they did, what do they like about it? How does it make them feel? Go home and try to recreate a favorite painting or style.

Pretty soon the art geek in you will start rubbing off on your child. And won't that make trips to New York, Europe, LA or Chicago with your kids THAT MUCH BETTER? I think so.