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youth & the arts

Dinner & A Show
Kids Appreciate Art at The Delaware Art Museum’s Exhibit BUILDING BOOKS THE ART OF DAVID MACAULAY
By Juliet Piccone & Katie Jillions

For parents who are looking for things to do with their kids, the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington, Del. is the answer. It is a family-friendly environment that offers organized activities your children can do by themselves while you can look at art, have a sip of wine, grab a snack at the café, or walk along the grounds. Best of all, if you go on a Sunday, admission is free. This is the perfect destination, since it’s only an hour from South Jersey and a half hour from Philadelphia, to have a cultural afternoon with your whole family. From October to January the Delaware Art Museum is hosting the exhibit Building Books: The Art of David Macaulay.

David Macaulay is one of those few people in the world who prompts us to ask the question “how do our actions impact events that occur around us?” He wrote many books illustrating just that. Some of his works include Black and White, Why the Chicken Crosses the Road, and The Way Things Work. Macaulay has also entered the software world with his The New Way Things Work. This program is designed to enable kids to visually see how things work, and stations set up around the museum encourage children to create things using wheels, belts, and axels. The exhibit featured the original drawings that appear in David Macaulay’s books and include brief descriptions of each. Macaulay attended the Rhode Island School of Design for five years. He also attended Palazzo Cenci in Rome, Italy as a part of a European Honors program. Macaulay loved Rome and he learned as much as he could while he was there by frequently visiting museums. Through all these years of schooling, Macaulay was taught how to organize his ideas and put them onto paper

One of Macaulay’s books describing various castles stood out to us because of the intricacy of each castle. How could someone devote so much time to drawing and perfecting so many castles. We later learned Macaulay loved castles and was passionate about them since childhood.

While you are at the Delaware Art Museum, take an hour or two to experience the other collections. The museum has many permanent exhibits that are just as interesting as Macaulay’s. John Sloan’s People and Places was our favorite of the permanent exhibits because we recognized many of the places he drew and it was interesting to see how another person interpreted those same places. 

The basement of the museum is designated as the Kids’ Corner. It’s an interactive place were children learn about different aspects of art while playing. Children can log on to computers and make their own creation and then print it out and bring it home. After the kids use the computers, they can walk into another room by using one of the three doors, and each one is a different size and color. Once you pass through one of these doors, you enter a vibrant room with brightly colored walls, blue couches, and activities everywhere.

On one wall children learn about colors in pictures. The next wall teaches children about different textures, and methods to make the painting deeper. Another wall shows how there are different types of art such as sculpture, paintings, and drawings. There is also a reading corner where kids can read books about color, and texture. The wall most children like best is a wall with pegs on it (you’ll just have to go to see why they like it the best!). Every child that entered the Kids’ Corner while we were there left with a smile on their face. Marianna, Juliet’s sister who went with us to the museum, still talks about it and what a great time she had there. To learn more, call 302.571.9590 or visit delart.org. Admission is $10 for adults and $3 for children. Kids 6 and under get in free.

While in Delaware…

In the museum is the delArt Café, the perfect spot to grab lunch. There, you can get a salad, a grilled panini, or even a deli sandwich. There are also candies and snacks that any person would enjoy. The coffee lover can also get a Starbucks coffee that is proudly brewed for you. The café style seating is perfect for discussing the exhibits over a small meal, and is available indoors and out. Prices are affordable.

Juliet Piccone is a Junior at Moorestown High School and Katie Jillions is a junior at Holy Cross High School.