Summer is time for the family road trip! Follow Kids Activities Blog and Julie Blair and her family as they travel 8 states in 30 days for the ultimate road trip story ¦
If I lived in Santa Fe, I’d host a preschool playdate at the
International Folk Art Museum.
It sounds sort of stuffy, I know. But believe me, you’ll be rewarded with a terrific morning little ones won’t find anywhere else.
For $6 per child, you’ll gain access to an intimate tree-themed playroom, a pink-pillowed lounge and an eating area. (Accompanying grown-ups cost $8.)
Highlights include a lovely puppet theater, a magnetic tree sculpture where gardeners can add branches, fruit and leaves, as well as doll-sized treehouses.
A well-edited collection of children’s books lines the walls. (In fact, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen so many about children of color gathered in one place.)
Parents or caregivers can hang out atop cushy benches or over in the adjacent lounge which is within earshot.
Got grade-schoolers, a Girl Scout or artisans in your brood?
They’ll enjoy the museum’s colorful collection of toys from around the world–the focus of this particular venue.
We happen to hit upon fantastic exhibits about Japanese kites and Brazilian puppets.
Both included art stations where kids could stop and, inspired by what they’ve seen, make their own items.
And while I find doll collections to be sort of creepy, this museum’s standing exhibit offers a comprehensive anthropological look at cultures from every continent through such playthings.
There are teeny-tiny blue Buddas, Inuit “Barbies” covered in furs, African babies made of clay.
We stood there ooh-ing and ahh-ing, pondering who had made such beautiful items and how children played with them.
On your way out, you can score similar items in the museum’s two bookshops.
(Spoiler alert, Jessica Lahner: I just had to scoop up a copy of “Toilets from Around the World” for your twins. What 9-year-old boys don’t love weird facts about poop?)
Outside the International Folk Art Museum is a terrific plaza for physical play.
And there’s a restaurant on the property, too, but since it closes at 3 p.m., we didn’t get a chance to sample the food.
Such a place for kiddos is a welcome pleasure in a city that’s sumptuous, but designed for grown-ups.
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