Children's & Family Programs

Exhibition Guide Cards

Exhibition Guide Cards can help you and your family to enjoy your visit to the Museum even more, with questions to Discuss about the artwork, activities To do in the galleries, or art project ideas to work on At home. The cards also provide you with definitions of difficult words or art terms with which your children might not be familiar. You can print the cards before your visit so you will have time to prepare. Or, you will find the cards in the galleries of selected exhibitions.

Download The Aldrich Exhibition Guide [PDF]

Activities you can do at home!

Click here to learn about this season’s Children’s Workshops!


Family Art Adventures

First Saturday of every month
Free for members and children 18 and under

Families are welcome to enjoy an afternoon filled with contemporary art and Family Art Adventures each month. Galleries are open for exploration with Docent Art Stations offering games, simple activities, questions, and props that docents can utilize to encourage visitors to engage with the artwork, and the Education Center is open all day for experimentation with hands-on activities that are based on topics, methods, and materials addressed in our exhibitions.

Drop-In Hours

Third weekend of every month
FREE with price of admission
Museum visitors can extend their visit and learn more about the work and the ideas in our exhibitions when they visit on a drop-in weekend. The Education Center is open and offers self-guided, hands-on projects for all age levels. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

The Family Learning Initiative is generously supported, in part, by the Adolph and Ruth Schnurmacher Foundation, Inc.


Fall Workshops for Children


Aldrich Buddies

Ages 3 to 5 with adult
Every Tuesday for six weeks, starting October 14, 2008
10 to 11:30 am

Six-session series: $100 Family members; $120 non-members
$20 per class, Family members; $25 per class, non-members
Please call 203.438.4519 to register for full six-session series. For individual classes only, please register online. Click here for the events calendar.

The six-week fall series of Aldrich Buddies will begin on October 14. Aldrich Buddies is a program for our youngest visitors and their adult guests. Led by a Museum educator, children and their parents, grandparents, or caretakers are introduced to artwork in The Aldrich’s galleries through gallery games and questions, followed by the reading of a storybook that relates to the artwork in some way—its materials, its concepts, its methods, or its subject matter. Finally, children and adults participate in making an art project that is inspired by the artwork, the storybook, or both. Snacks are provided for the children and their guests. So, come enjoy the Museum with your child and learn how your experiences at The Aldrich can be shared long after your visits. If you bring a sibling younger than three years old, please invite another adult to come along.

Registration is required and is ongoing
For information and to register: 203.438.4519

Family Tool Kit

The Family Tool Kit encourages your family to play, ask questions, discuss, and do hands-on activities before, during and after your visits to The Aldrich Museum, as well as to other art museums. The Kit, filled with games, discussion questions, and at-home hands-on activity suggestions, was designed by the Aldrich Museum education staff with input from parents on our Family Advisory Committee. Activities and questions are geared towards a wide age range, and can easily be adapted to older or younger members of your family. You can even try it out: borrow a Museum copy during your next visit.


Cancellation Policy

Fees
We accept credit card payments for youth and family workshops and events that require a fee. If you would like to pay by check, please register in person at the Museum.

Cancellations
Please take note of our policy with regard to cancellation of a registration:

Full Refund: given if child/family withdraws from the workshop at least THREE weeks before the workshop/program is scheduled to begin. You will also receive a full refund if it is necessary for The Aldrich to cancel a workshop/program because of low registration or inclement weather.

Half Refund: given if child/family withdraws within TWO weeks of the start of the workshop/program. However, you will receive a full refund if we are able to fill your child's/family's spot.

No Refund: is given if child/family withdraws within ONE week of the start of the workshop/program, or if the child does not attend. However, you will receive a full refund if we are able to fill your child's/family's spot.