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June 30, 2009 | 28 Comments

DIY Art Museum

 

I love museums, specifically art museums. My son has been really into the Mona Lisa and Birth of Venus since I bought him the first book in the reviews at the Vancouver Art Gallery. He also keeps asking to go to the Louvre after seeing an episode of Little Einsteins, don’t I wish! So while he was napping on Sunday I made him a museum, kids could be a part of this for sure – instead of using masterpiece stickers you could make your own art! It’s been played with multiple times since making it .

  1. Gather your materials. You will need a shallow card board box, some foam or construction paper in 2 colors, some markers, glue, scissors, art stickers, little people blocks and little people.
  2. Start by cutting your foam into rugs.
  3. Draw some fun squiggles to make the foam look like oriental rugs.
  4. Cut out a door.
  5. Cut a runner from the other color of foam.
  6. Add glue for the rugs and runner
  7. Pop them down.
  8. Time to add stickers- here is a close up of the stickers we are using. I found them at the St. Louis Art Museum ages ago but have seen them at the Vancouver Art Gallery .
  9. Add them to your box. The Mona Lisa is from the cover, I’d already used the sticker, I just taped it on.
  10. Add the furniture- I used a few blocks.
  11. Add your doorway. My son has been saying “Please pay for museum here” when he plays. If you have time you could make a little desk!
  12. Time to play.

Books!

“Brush Mona Lisa’s Hair” by Julie Appel and Amy Guglielmo is the inspiration for this post and my son’s new found love of Renaissance Art. The book is a board book with touch and feel aspects to it. The text is cute but not a story, each page asks the reader to do something with the touch and feel item . The real gem is bringing the art to young eyes. The book includes wonderful masterpieces : Girl with A Pearl Earing , Birth of Venus, The Arnolfini Portrait and more!


“Babar’s Museum of Art” by Laurent de Brunhoff is one of my favorite art books for kids. My son has recently decided he hates it because he doesn’t want to see the elephant versions of the art. All the art in the museum are masterpieces that you will recognize redone with elephants. He slams the page in the way only toddlers with a definite sense of justice can and says ” No elephant paintings Mama, real ones!” Trust me though this book is awesome and he loved it a few months ago. The story is about how Queen Celeste wants to change the abandoned railway station into a museum to house all their collected art . The museum itself looks just like the Musee D’Orsay in Paris and the story also explains art for children.


“In The Garden With Van Gogh“ by Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober is a little board book filled with easy rhymes and great art. The book doesn’t really have a story so much as a theme but it works. My son enjoyed it and asked to read it again after we were done. I like that books likes all these bring art into little hands for them to explore.

Filed Under: Age Preschool, Age: Toddlers, Art Museum, Fine Art, Parent and Tot Projects, Pretend Play | 28 Comments

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28 Comments

  1. Tanya says

    June 30, 2009 at 1:26 am

    Holy crap, this is seriously brilliant!! As an art lover & collector, I really want my 2 1/2 yr old to love and appreciate art like I do. We are so trying this & I'm on a hunt for those books, too!

    to Tanya" aria-label='reply to this comment to Tanya'>reply to this comment
  2. Teaching My Little BookWorm says

    June 30, 2009 at 4:34 am

    super cute! 🙂

    to Teaching My Little BookWorm" aria-label='reply to this comment to Teaching My Little BookWorm'>reply to this comment
  3. The Activity Mom says

    June 30, 2009 at 5:13 am

    Very Cool! I'm sure he will get a lot of pretend play out of it.

    to The Activity Mom" aria-label='reply to this comment to The Activity Mom'>reply to this comment
  4. Trisha says

    June 30, 2009 at 5:55 am

    What a great idea! I'll have to find some stickers. An idea we got from DS's school is to have a picture frame at his eye level with art postcards in it and then switch postcards every now and then.

    A couple other museum books we like are "Art of shapes" and "Museum ABC".

    to Trisha" aria-label='reply to this comment to Trisha'>reply to this comment
  5. Katherine Marie! says

    June 30, 2009 at 6:09 am

    This is so INCREDIBLE! I thought about making a mini museum and use small photos of my kiddos art work. I love how you used the books— such a fantastic and FUN way to learn about art appreciation!

    to Katherine Marie!" aria-label='reply to this comment to Katherine Marie!'>reply to this comment
  6. SkylarKD says

    June 30, 2009 at 6:26 am

    This is so cute – what a great idea!

    to SkylarKD" aria-label='reply to this comment to SkylarKD'>reply to this comment
  7. Teri says

    June 30, 2009 at 7:34 am

    That is just adorable 🙂

    to Teri" aria-label='reply to this comment to Teri'>reply to this comment
  8. Jen says

    June 30, 2009 at 7:58 am

    This is so great! We are really into the book, Olivia, right now and she likes to visit the museum too!

    My daughter would love this. She enjoyed the museum when we went.

    Wonderful idea!

    to Jen" aria-label='reply to this comment to Jen'>reply to this comment
  9. Michelle Sybert says

    June 30, 2009 at 9:02 am

    Seriously, so clever! YOu come up with the best ideas!

    to Michelle Sybert" aria-label='reply to this comment to Michelle Sybert'>reply to this comment
  10. Something Girlie says

    June 30, 2009 at 11:32 am

    Another great series for fine art is the one by James Mayhew. I love his book, Katie and the Mona Lisa. Katie is in a museum and interacts with the paintings. It makes the works of art come to life!

    to Something Girlie" aria-label='reply to this comment to Something Girlie'>reply to this comment
  11. Amber says

    June 30, 2009 at 1:29 pm

    That is way too cute! I bet my 4-year-old would love it. In fact, I might even have all the materials kicking around.

    to Amber" aria-label='reply to this comment to Amber'>reply to this comment
  12. Rebecca is Thrilled by the Thought says

    June 30, 2009 at 3:16 pm

    I majored in Art History. I'm going to make this for myself! Put all my favorite paintings in one museum room!

    BTW, I LOVE all those kid-art books. I have lots of them!

    to Rebecca is Thrilled by the Thought" aria-label='reply to this comment to Rebecca is Thrilled by the Thought'>reply to this comment
  13. Allie says

    June 30, 2009 at 5:07 pm

    Thanks guys- I was planning on only posting Canada Day/ 4th of July crafts but had to share this one .

    Something Girlie- I can't wait to check out those books, thanks you!!

    to Allie" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allie'>reply to this comment
  14. Rebecca says

    June 30, 2009 at 6:30 pm

    This will be great to do before we take the kids to the National Gallery!! thanks!

    to Rebecca" aria-label='reply to this comment to Rebecca'>reply to this comment
  15. Desiree Fawn says

    June 30, 2009 at 8:02 pm

    What a cute idea — I loved making little houses and cities when I was little. This would have been right up my alley!

    to Desiree Fawn" aria-label='reply to this comment to Desiree Fawn'>reply to this comment
  16. Andrea says

    June 30, 2009 at 9:58 pm

    Very cute and creative! Thought you'd like to see our box turned "wild animal cage" http://andrea-learn-something-new.blogspot.com/2009/06/homemade-cage.html

    to Andrea" aria-label='reply to this comment to Andrea'>reply to this comment
  17. kingstonmama says

    June 30, 2009 at 10:33 pm

    How fun! These little books are available on Amazon.com for $1.50, and if you buy four, one of them is free. I just happened to be placing an order today, so I added four of these little books to my list. Lucky timing!

    I'm thinking about putting the stickers on some stiff paper or cereal box, laminating them, and putting velcro on the back. Then my kids can change the display in the gallery as they play with it.

    to kingstonmama" aria-label='reply to this comment to kingstonmama'>reply to this comment
  18. Allie says

    June 30, 2009 at 11:42 pm

    kingstonmama – what an awesome idea, and thanks for sharing that they are on sale.

    Andrea- very cute! Love how the markers showed up on the black , super cute!

    to Allie" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allie'>reply to this comment
  19. Monica Crumley says

    July 1, 2009 at 9:53 am

    These are great book suggestions. I love art and hopefully instilling art appreciation in my children. Great post.

    to Monica Crumley" aria-label='reply to this comment to Monica Crumley'>reply to this comment
  20. For Your Inspiration says

    July 3, 2009 at 11:23 am

    oh my goodness!!! I love this and am totally going to try and put it together!

    to For Your Inspiration" aria-label='reply to this comment to For Your Inspiration'>reply to this comment
  21. Rachel@oneprettything.com says

    July 4, 2009 at 10:48 am

    This is one of the cutest things EVER! I love it!

    to Rachel@oneprettything.com" aria-label='reply to this comment to Rachel@oneprettything.com'>reply to this comment
  22. Jen says

    July 11, 2010 at 8:30 pm

    I’m loving this mini museum! My youngest daughter would love this for her Littlest Pet Shops.
    .-= Jen´s last blog ..Martha Speaks Read Aloud Book Club =-.

    to Jen" aria-label='reply to this comment to Jen'>reply to this comment

Trackbacks

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