Photograph by Devyn Glista
If you find yourself wandering the Cincinnati Art Museum’s galleries on a Friday afternoon only to come across an army of infants, don’t panic—they’re also enjoying the art. You’ve just stumbled onto one of the museum’s special baby tours. “These tours started around 11 years ago,” says Sara Birkofer, CAM’s assistant director of gallery and accessibility programs. “We thought that it would be a great way to bring a new demographic—ages 0 to 2—but also new moms into our building and make them feel comfortable. And hopefully those babies will become lifelong learners as part of their museum experience.”
On these free 40-minute tours, docents bring the guests to a couple of different rooms and give them a theme like “Shiny Shapes” or “Animal Friends” to identify in the artworks. “It’s very silly and fun and exploratory,” says Birkofer. “We kind of let the babies and caregivers loose and let them explore with the loose prompts to help them be guided.” Registration slots fill up fast, so CAM has been adding more infant programming to help kids grow a love of art from a young age.
Photograph by Devyn Glista
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