VISITING WITH KIDS
MAKING CONTEMPORARY ART FUN FOR ALL AGES
A trip to MOCA Jacksonville is fun for the whole family with programs and resources for visitors of all ages. You can use the resources on this page to make every trip exciting and engaging for the children in your group.
TIPS FOR VISITING WITH KIDS
PUT FUN FIRST! Whether this is your family's first visit or your hundredth, focus on keeping the experience fun for everyone. If you need ideas for ways make your visit engaging, check out the Activity Ideas tab on this page.
DO LESS! Keep the experience low pressure. Don’t feel like you have to make it to every space or read every label in one day. And don’t forget to take breaks. The first floor is a great place to stop for a snack break.
LET YOUR CHILD LEAD! Empower your child in the gallery spaces. Let them lead the way, pointing out pieces they like. If something catches their eye, they will be more engaged.
TAKE A BREAK! If they start to get tired or struggle to pay attention, take a break or grab a snack. And don’t forget, there are bathrooms on every floor.
PLAY A GAME! Make learning and exploring the galleries a game. Search for colors, objects, or shapes. Find all the works of art with animals in them. Play a few rounds of “I Spy.” Choose a work of art and use it to tell a story.
GRAB AN ACTIVITY SHEET! MOCA’s team has put together activity sheets for kids to use during their visits. Grab a couple of activity sheets and some crayons from the front desk to fuel your child’s creativity during their visit.
TALK ABOUT IT! Talk about what you see and ask your kids what they see. Find out which pieces are their favorites and ask them why they like them. Does a work of art make them happy or sad? What do they think of when they look at different pieces?
USE “I NOTICE” LANGUAGE! This encourages kids make their own observations. It is also a way to experience the art that is free from judgement and accessible to everyone. You don’t have to understand the content or themes of the work to notice things about it.
MAKE A DAY OF IT! There are so many things to do near MOCA Jacksonville. You can visit the museum and go to our café, then check out some books at the library next door, take a walk through James Weldon Johnson Park and visit Sweet Pete’s Candy Shop, explore the stacks at Chamblin’s Bookmine, or head down to the river to watch for dolphins! Don’t forget, your admission is good for the whole day, so you can take a break to get outside and come back to finish your visit.
LEARN NEW WORDS! Teach your child art vocabulary by using it yourself when talking to them about what you see. Visit the glossary tab to the left to learn new words.
KID-FRIENDLY RULES
LOOK CLOSELY! Pay close attention to the artwork, the space, and those around you. Learning to observe is part of the experience.
STAND BACK! Don’t get too close to the artwork. If you can reach out and touch the artwork, you are too close.
NO HANDS! Did you know that the natural oils in your skin can damage the artwork? This is why it is important that we never touch the art. We want to keep it safe for everyone to enjoy. If you are close enough to touch it, take a step back.
WALK, DON’T RUN! It is important to walk while you are inside the museum. Running and horseplay can be dangerous for you, the artwork, and other visitors.
STAY TOGETHER! Kids should always stay with their adult.
CREATE WITH PENCILS! Galleries are a great place to create masterpieces of your own, but it is important to use pencils, not pens or other wet media. These materials can damage works of art if there is an accident.
ACTIVITY IDEAS
GRAB AN ACTIVITY SHEET!
MOCA’s team has put together a variety of activity sheets for kids. You can grab one or more to help your child engage with museum content, learn new things, and get creative! Activity sheets and crayons can be found at the front desk for use at the museum.
GET CREATIVE WITH THE ELEMENTS OF ART!
Bring your own paper and pencils to the museum or borrow some at the front desk. Use the different elements of art to create your own masterpiece.
LINE – The most basic element of art, a line is a single point moving around in space and is used to create shapes, contours, texture, and shading.
COLOR – When light is reflected off an object, it creates color.
VALUE – Value is how light or dark the colors in an image are. Value can be created in tints, tones, and shades.
SHAPE – Enclosed 2-dimensional areas are shapes. Shapes can be geometric or organic.
FORM – A 3-dimensional shape or the illusion of a 3-dimensional shape. A form takes up space and has volume.
SPACE – Space is when something has a sense of depth. It can be created on a 2-dimensional surface using techniques like perspective, overlapping, size, and placement.
TEXTURE – The way a surface feels or looks like it would feel if it were touched is texture. A surface can be soft, rough, smooth, fuzzy, etc.
DO A SCAVENGER HUNT!
TELL A STORY! Find a work of art that tells a story. Tell the story you see.
What is happening? Can you find a work of art with people in it? What are they doing? What emotions do you think they are feeling?
I SPY A SHAPE! Find 3 different shapes in the artwork.
TAKE A TRIP! Is there a work of art that shows a place you would like to go? What do you think you would see there? What kinds of sounds and smells do you think you would experience?
IT’S FLAT! Find a 2-dimensional work of art. This means a work of art that is mostly flat. These works only have two dimensions – lengths and width – like drawings, photographs, and paintings.
I SPY A COLOR! Find three works of art with the same color in them.
IN THE ROUND! Find a 3-dimensional work of art. This means a work that is not flat. These works have three dimensions – length, width, and depth – like sculptures or installations.
STRIKE A POSE! Find a work of art with a person in it and try to mimic their pose.
HOW DOES IT FEEL? Look for a work of art with an interesting texture. What do you think it would feel like if you could touch it? Would it be soft, bumpy, spiky, or smooth? How would you describe it?
GLOSSARY OF ART TERMS
Use this list of common art terms to make your visit more interesting and learn new things!
Abstract – Artwork
Background – The part of the picture that appears to be the farthest from the viewer.
Brushstroke – The marks made on a surface by a painter’s brush.
Color – When light is reflected off of an object, it creates color.
Color Wheel – A tool used in art and design to show colors and their relationship to each other.
Complimentary Colors – Colors that appear on opposite sides of the color wheel. When placed side-by-side, these colors can intensify each other.
Composition – The arrangement of the elements of art and the principles of design within a work of art.
Contemporary Art – Art made between the mid-1900s and the present.
Contrast – A design principle that emphasizes the differences between art elements like bright/dull, dark/light, or angular/round.
Curator – A person responsible for acquiring, caring for, and exhibiting artwork, objects, or artifacts.
Dimensional – Measurement in one direction. A 2-dimensional work of art can be measured in two directions: length and width. A 3-dimensional work of art can be measured in three directions: length, width, and depth.
Figure – The form of a human, animal, or thing; most often refers to an entire human form.
Foreground – The part of the picture that appears closest to the viewer.
Form – A 3-dimensional shape or the illusion of a 3-dimensional shape. A form takes up space and has volume.
Geometric Shape – Mathematical shapes created using points, line segments, and curves. They are generally characterized by straight lines, angles, and points.
Horizontal – A line or shape that runs across a surface from left to right.
Installation – Artwork created to fill a room or space, often using sculpture or structures designed to envelop the viewer, who is invited to enter or walk through the piece.
Landscape – A work of art that depicts natural settings like the ocean, mountains, trees, or the sky.
Line – The most basic element of art, a line is a single point moving around in space and is used to create shapes, contours, texture, and shading.
Media or Medium – The materials used to create a piece of artwork, such as paint, clay, marble, wood, or pastels.
Organic Shape – Irregular shapes that might be found in nature, often with rounded edges.
Pattern – Repetition of an element of art, like shapes, lines, or colors.
Perspective – A way of painting or drawing that represents 3-dimensional objects or space, creating a sense of depth and making some objects appear closer than others.
Portrait – A work of art where the main subject is a person or people.
Primary Colors – Colors that cannot be produced by mixing other colors – red, blue, and yellow.
Printmaking – The process of reproducing images on a flat surface. The three types of printmaking are relief (linoleum cut, woodblock), intaglio (etching, engraving), and stencil (silkscreen).
Realism – Artwork that attempts a photographic likeness of the subject matter. Sometimes refers to the choice of subject matter that is commonplace as opposed to idealized.
Secondary Colors – Colors created by mixing two primary colors – green, orange, purple.
Self-Portrait – A work of art that an artist makes of themself.
Shades – Colors created when black is added to a hue to darken a color.
Shape – Enclosed 2-dimensional areas are shapes. Shapes can be geometric or organic.
Space – Space is when something has a sense of depth. It can be created on a 2-dimensional surface using techniques like perspective, overlapping, size, and placement.
Still Life – A work of art showing inanimate objects, often placed in an arrangement, like flowers in a vase, fruit in a bowl, or a table setting.
Subject Matter – What the artwork depicts. What you see in the artwork.
Symmetry – A way of organizing the parts of a design so that one side mirrors the other side.
Texture – The way a surface feels or looks like it would feel if it were touched.
Tints – Colors created when white is added to lighten a color.
Tones – Colors created by adding gray to a color.
Value – The lightness (tint) or darkness (shade) of colors in an image.
Vertical – A line or shape that runs up and down a surface from top to bottom.
Volume – The space within a form.