The Foundations and Wings of a Museum

Visiting a museum with your kids while travelling in vacation time can sometimes be a challenge. But it is a challenge worth accepting. After all, if you oblige your kids to go to school, why couldn't you oblige them to visit  a museum from time to time? And museums nowadays do much more effort to be hospitable to children.

While visiting the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht recently, my daughter asked me the difficult question what we should visit: the ancient art section or the contemporary art section of the museum.

For me, the ancient art section is more in my nature to start with. I am more familiar with it. I recognise much more things, I can explain the history and the relevance better. Somehow, I have it under control. I may see a sculpture of a woman with a tower and explain my kids this must be Saint-Barbara, the patron saint of the engineers. Or I may explain them the difference between Charlemagne and Charles V. So in the ancient arts section, I have a certain 'advantage' over my children. I can talk a lot to them and get the feeling I introduce them into something valuable, something they can take with them to lead a meaningful life.

The contemporary arts section is completely different. In the contemporary art section, I usually need to remain speechless. My advantage is gone. In contemporary art, there tends to be a meaning-disconnect between the artist and the observer. When my children ask me what it means, I can give my opinion or impression, but it may be pointless. I rather tend to ask them what they think. Of course I can still recognise things and give them a few hints. But basically I need to discover myself and my findings may not be more relevant than my children's findings.

So the answer to my daughter was that we needed to visit both. I discovered that both museum sections have their value. Raising kids is, as they say, giving them roots and wings at the same time. The ancient art wing gives them roots, so that they know where they come from. And the contemporary art wing shows them the unlimited possibilities of creative work, it gives them wings and some desire to fly away from the dark rooms of a museum.

I refer to my earlier blog: "Raising kids in the 21st century".