Sure, the Getty Center is a sophisticated, world-class museum, but it also has plenty of kid-friendly appeal. On most Saturdays throughout the year, there are special family-centered activities at the Getty Center, with additional opportunities in the summer (check the Getty Center family calendar). But here are a few family-friendly activities you can (and should) do any day at the museum.
Pick up a GettyGuide
While you’re wandering around the museum, keep the kids occupied with a GettyGuide, the free multimedia guide accessible on your smartphone or on an iPod touch; you can check one out for free (with photo ID) from the GettyGuide desk in the Museum Entrance Hall. GettyGuides provide video and audio clips along with additional details about works of art around the museum, to keep kids of different ages interested and engaged. For younger kids, choose the Family Tour, which shares fun facts about art enhanced with music and sound effects. Tweens and teens will dig the Demons, Angels, and Monsters audio tour, which highlights the use of the supernatural in the museum’s collection.
Visit the Family Room
For some hands-on fun, head to the Family Room, located in the Museum Courtyard by the East Pavilion. Activities include building a tube sculpture, decorating a giant illuminated book page, or playing with camera lenses and a wall of mirrors. When they’re tired, kids can grab a book and lounge on the giant luxurious bed, reclining just like one of the 18th-century French aristocrats seen in paintings.
Get Art Detective Cards
Make your museum trip more interactive by adding this self-directed scavenger hunt through the West Pavilion, which asks kids to find specific paintings and to look more closely at the art. The four activity cards encourage kids to use their detective skills, uncovering clues hidden in paintings to solve the mystery. Art Detective Cards are available outside the Family Room or at the Family Cart in the Museum Entrance Hall, in either English or Spanish. There’s another Art Detective game, too, for the outdoor sculptures in the Central Garden.
