Oskar, June and I checked out the last Arty Pants Tuesday Playdate. J. slept most of the time and O. was happy to have some attention. We had such a nice, low-key visit, and I realized later that its the practical stuff that can make or break a visit. Here are three things I especially appreciated.
- The window wall along Hennepin Avenue is a treat. During Arty Pants, they had squares of carpeting and little scraps of fabric you could use to build your own cityscape while looking out at the real city.
- The chocolate-chip cookies in the café come in packages of four small cookies. No arguments about how to divide up a single gigantic treat: each person gets her or his very own reasonably-sized cookie.
- The family restroom on the lower level (in the old section of the building) is large enough – there’s room for a kid and a stroller – and there’s a trash can next to the changing station. And there are lockers nearby.
I don’t want this to sound like Mommy’s trip to the museum is all about snacktime and changing stations, but here’s the deal. When those practical things are easy – when it doesn’t take six hands to change a diaper and I’m not faced with offering a hungry kid a cookie the size of his head because I forgot to bring snacks – it makes enjoying the art easy.