From the last post I put up (When a Museum Visit Goes Wrong), you might think that taking your toddler to the museum isn’t worth the effort.  Nothing could be further from the truth!

I am a firm believer that kids should go to museums early and often.  I wrote about why for American History and hopefully it will re-energize you to head out on a visit!

When my son was a year old, he saw a cow in “real life” for the first time. He’s seen plenty in books, both photographs and cartoon drawings, but in suburban Virginia there just aren’t that many cows hanging out. At the farm, he walked right up to that cow, pointed at it, and said “MOO!” That was incredible for me—the cow certainly looked similar to the ones in his books but the size and context were all different. Despite that, his brain was able to say, “That is a cow, just like in my books.”

So, what does seeing a cow have to do with taking a toddler to a museum….continue reading

PS: I’m very excited that this post is getting some buzz in the online museum community. Feel free to share it and keep everyone talking about why young children belong in museums!