On Family Days, the marble halls of Mia fill with small artists carrying big ideas. The Minneapolis Institute of Art’s free monthly family festival layers art-making studios, gallery treasure hunts, storytelling and performances over its 100,000-work collection — and the museum’s Art Team sends kids off with backpacks full of activities on ordinary days, too.
The formula works because Mia treats children as real art lovers: they sketch in front of Rembrandts, build sculptures inspired by the Asian galleries and hunt for dragons across three floors of world art. The Family Center offers a soft landing with books and blocks for the littlest visitors.
Free museum, free family days, priceless habit: a childhood that includes original art as a normal, joyful thing.
