Philadelphia Museum: ART SPLASH (c) By Polly Guerin

Lion Picks Up Mouse, Jerry Pinkney 2009

If ‘ART SPLASH,’ the Philadelphia Museum of Art has its way, the Perelman Building will be swarming with Lilliputian art enthusiasts and their parents who are invited to indulge their senses to explore, create, and play with five family-friendly exhibitions, pay what you wish festivals, interactive art and play zones and daily family activities. There’s nothing staid about the world-renowned Museum. It showcases the classics, sculpture, works on paper, photography, textiles and the decorative arts, but its family-friendly and youth programs attest to its outreach to a new generation of museum visitors through ‘ART SPLASH’ a summer of art and fun for the whole family in the Perelman Building. It’s worth daytripping to Philadelphia to partake of the diversified activities through September 2, 2013.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY EXHIBITIONS ‘Design for the Modern Child’ caught my attention, particularly Pinocchio Rug, by Hey, Horsens 2008. It may look like it is made of Gum balls, but each eye-popping colored ball is assembled row after row to form a circular rug and perhaps teach children a thing or two about color. ‘Candy-Coated Wonderland’ leads the viewer into a fantasy world where multi-media artist Candy-Coated blends nineteenth- and twentieth-century children’s fancy dress costumes into a rich wonderland of colorful vinyl decals, ceramic wall gems and wallpapers to amaze children and adults alike by the costumes and painted imaginary. ‘All Dressed Up: Fashions for Children and their Families’ puts an historical spin on clothing of bygone eras.

WITNESS: THE ART OF JERRY PINKNEY Philadelphia’s native son, the celebrity illustrator and writer of children’s books, Jerry Pinkney, has his day in a gallery devoted to his prolific genre. Mr. Pinkney had always had an interest in diversity and many of his children’s books celebrate the multicultural and African-American themes. This exhibition of drawings and watercolors presents an overview of the long career of the Mr. Pinkney touching on personal and cultural themes such as the African-American experience reflecting the transformative power of visual storytelling. Among his honors, he was awarded the 2010 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing the Lion and the Mousse, a version of Aesop’s families among a treasure trove of illustrations.

The Perelman Building, corner of Pennsylvania and Fairmount Avenues, offers new themes each week. A complimentary visitor shuttle bus equipped with a lift for easy stroller transport departs every fifteen minutes from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Stroller parking inside the Perelman building and Gallery Café offers kid-friendly selections. 215.763.8100.