Milwaukee Art Museum Offers Kids and Families a Winter Break

Milwaukee, WI, February 17, 2004— The Milwaukee Art Museum offers a variety of programs to help kids and families escape the winter doldrums. With all of the art education cuts nationwide, the Museum is a great alternative way to expose kids to art. Whether you spend an hour or a day, there is a new treasure to uncover around every corner of the Museum. Special programs have been developed to help make the experience more fun and meaningful for kids.

As an added reason to visit, MAM is offering free general admission on Mondays in March for Milwaukee County residents.

Audio Guides

MAM offers free audio guides to Museum visitors. A family audio tour features 50 exciting works chosen especially for their appeal to younger audiences. From mummy to Warhol, the family tour uses lively sound effects, character voices and engaging storytelling to bring works of art to life.

Art Packs

MAM’s unique art packs are free, self-guided games that keep the whole family looking, laughing and discovering great works of art throughout the Collection. Kids are encouraged to make color connections with devices found in each pocket of the “Color Tool Belt”; tease their brains and test their eyes in the pursuit of art history with the “Art Card Pack”; see works of art as never before when they try out the “Drawing Activity Cards”; or don a costume inspired by a work in the Collection.

Family Sundays

Four times each year the Museum presents family workshops designed around a different theme, usually in conjunction with the feature exhibition. Families experience art together by enjoying a special performance or making a work of art to take home. Family Sundays are scheduled on select Sundays throughout the year and are free with Museum admission. The next two events are February 15 and April 25 from noon to 4 p.m.

Studio Art Classes

Kids and Adults can develop their artistic style and explore various techniques and materials through MAM’s studio classes. Class schedules are available at www.mam.org. MAM’s downtown class fees include admission to the Museum’s non-ticketed galleries on each day of the session. Studio art class gift certificates are also available.

Milwaukee Art Museum

The Milwaukee Art Museum includes the new Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion, completed in October, 2001 and named by Time magazine “Best Design of 2001”; renovated and reinstalled permanent collection galleries; and elegant public gardens designed by noted landscape architect Dan Kiley. The Museum’s 2001 expansion provided a 30 percent increase in overall gallery space, enhanced educational and public programming facilities, and expanded public amenities.

The Milwaukee Art Museum’s far-reaching holdings include more than 20,000 works spanning antiquity to the present day. With a history dating back to 1888, the Museum’s primary strengths are in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, Old Master works, and folk and self-taught art.

The Museum is located in downtown Milwaukee, along the shore of Lake Michigan. The Museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for Thursdays when the Museum stays open until 8 p.m. (supported by Greater Milwaukee Foundation). The Museum is closed on New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Note to editors: Photography or an interview with Museum staff member available upon request.

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