The Metropolitan Museum of Art
It rules. We don’t have to be Royals—we can still glimpse the higher ranks of nobility. Whether students are inclined to follow Hiccup’s gang in How to Train Your Dragon, Merlin, or are more in tune with Game of Thrones, the Met’s Arms and Armor gallery will make them feel like royalty. So will travels from Africa and Asia around the corner. Ancient Egypt inspires awe. The Met is a crown jewel that holds art from around the globe.
Art leaps off the page, thanks to the Percy Jackson & the Olympians guide. From Athena to Zeus, Greek Mythology comes to life as the reader searches for the ancient characters amid quotes from The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. The Met has many such art adventures, for all ages: actual animals to imaginary ones, art treasure hunts for the pre-school set, and programs for teens and college students. Sketching is encouraged in the Make Your Mark guide; and Six Women, Six Stories is an inspirational look at how females shook up the art scene.
Gaze at Goya (through August 3) or upon a Da Vinci in the “Italian Renaissance Drawings from the Robert Lehman Collection” (through September 1). Explore a raw diamond (“Unique by Design“, through August 31) or the baseball diamond with the “Burdick Baseball Card Collection” (through October 5).
Be strung along by the beauty of 35 instruments in the Early American Guitars exhibition (through December 7; see video below) or the collection of Indian musical instruments in “Ragamala: Picturing Sound” (through December 14). Look, Mom! Peruse a selection from the House of Fabergé that hasn’t been publicly available in New York for a decade (through November 27, 2016).
Children under age 12 accompanied by an adult are free, and $25 admission for adults also includes admission to The Cloisters collection of medieval art and architecture amid the splendor of its gardens. For details, click on Visit at www.metmuseum.org or call 212-535-7710.
The AMNH general admission prices are “suggested prices”. It’s basically pay what you can afford. If you have 4 kids and can’t afford to drop $100, then opt to pay whatever you can. I usually pay $5 per person.