Portland ~ More Fun at the Portland Art Museum

In addition to visiting the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine on our trip to Maine, we hit up the Portland Art Museum. My almost seven year-old has always been very interested in art– both creating it and viewing it, so I knew he would love a visit to the Portland Art Museum.

It was nice to visit the museum on a week day–we felt like we had the museum to ourselves, save for a few school field trips. The Portland Art Museum is a great one to test out with kids, since it’s a manageable size. You won’t feel like it’s overwhelming or that the kids will be exhausted from all the walking! 😉

We started off by visiting the creative space for kids in the McLellan House. The Portland Art Museum has some great programs for kids and parents. I love that they are striving to make art fun and entertaining for our littles! In the kids’ room there is a desk and colored pencils for sketching, pieces of art for inspiration, and a place to hang up completed works!

They also have cards that have an art piece located in the museum with a space for the child to draw their own interpretation of the artwork right next to it. There are also questions to help the child further investigate the art work. It’s such a great idea, and James loved it.

Another thing of note for families, there is a great café area to grab a quick breakfast or lunch. It’s a beautiful space and bathrooms are nearby (baby changing areas in the women’s AND men’s bathrooms!). There are also umbrella strollers (limited number) that you can use while exploring the museum. I love that they have a little bag attached to the back of each stroller with kid friendly items inside!

Overall, we had a wonderful time at the Portland Art Museum, and we look forward to returning on our next trip! For more information on visiting the museum, click HERE.