“It will be so joyful when the kids return to the museum! That first day back, that first tour with the kids, I know I’m going to cry."
“It's been devastating to not have the kids here. We usually do tours for about 10,000 people a year, most of whom are school children. I really do love that in-person experience. You know when you get to show somebody a piece of art for the first time, and they look at it and their eyes light up, you can see in their eyes, “Oh, I get it, I understand.” These are just priceless moments you can't replace with video.
Our last school group tour here at the Huntington Museum of Art was Friday, March 13. Right after the tour, everything shut down. At least the kids had a good field trip experience to kind of end their crazy rest of the year.
After shutdown, we started reimagining how to reach them online. We created virtual tours, Facebook video classes like Clay with Kathleen, online project ideas, and a series of really fun “try this at home” videos called “Friends and Neighbors with Mr. George.” Kids love George, our museum educator who does after school programs. The videos are super-cute, you're gonna have to watch them!
Our team had a great time doing the videos and it was a good learning experience. Without the kids coming to visit, though, my days are different. I’ve been on the computer a lot, researching a lot, and going to meetings. There have definitely been a lot of meetings.
It will be so joyful when the kids return to the museum! That first day back, that first tour with the kids, I know I’m going to cry. I always greet the kids when they come visit. I'm out there and I wave at the kids when they arrive on the bus. I'm just so excited to see them each and every time. When they finally come back, oh boy, I’m definitely going to cry. I mean, we've had kids give us great big hugs after tours. One little kid even said, 'This is better than Disney World.' I'll take it!" -- Cindy #WestVirginia
