is it art?

For the past two decades, I have lived in Dallas believing there was "nothing to do" here except watch movies and eat. That is, until I went prego and my mommy radar was fine tuned into locating family events around town. Each weekend, a handful of new ideas adorn the city calendars - and it's always hard to choose. So we try to catch a city highlight now and then just to try something new in an old corner of our city. Like this weekend. I'd probably never go on my own - but I did after discovering that every first Saturday of the month from 10am to 2pm, the Nasher Sculpture Center opens its doors for families to explore, connect, and nurture their artistic passions.

We missed the art activity - but made it just in time for the scavenger hunt. Which again, forced us to do something we wouldn't normally do - like take notice. So we did. And noticed how each earthly element the artist manifested into a person, shape, or idea.







We found all the scangener clues and received a stuffed Target dog as a prize. The kids loved it. Afterwards, we joined the family tour guide on her quest to show us the exhibits as how they were meant to be questioned. Pablo had us intrigued - how many faces do you see? Is he happy or sad? she asked the group. Great questions to get our little ones thinking about the lines on our faces and how they evoke true or false emotion.



The tour led us straight into storytime. We listened in on the story Go Away Big Green Monster - which was an instant hit with the page turner set.



By this time in the afternoon - the heat was becoming too much. We quickly hid inside and discovered a special blues performance playing in the auditorium. After we cooled long enough, it was time to hit the road. The kids were exhausted and we were thrilled. While older kids may enjoy the experience more, our little toddlers did quite well appreciating the art on display. I was the only one however that got noticed by the exhibit guard for touching the display case [who knew you couldn't?].

So if you're near downtown - and want to expose the kids to questionable "art", visit the Nasher Sculpture center the first Saturday each month for free! Then pickup a pack of sculpting clay on your way home to create a gallery of moods the kids are feeling that day. How fun!