Our selection of exhibitions and museums for babies

20 minutes has tested several visits to the museum specially designed for babies, in Paris or near the suburbs, enough to introduce toddlers to art while having fun. Here is a short summary, and the practical details.

At the Quai Branly, a storytelling visit with Petit Ours

This is our favorite visit. Following the soft voice of an actress who sings throughout, we are immersed in an atmosphere of poetry, at the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques-Chirac. We begin by crossing a river of words, which the children are invited to look at. And we follow Little Bear, who “sets off on the back of a caribou, in the direction of the forest”. Passing through feathered costumes, wooden sculptures, marvelous coats, magic totems… “Ani couni chaounani, Ani couni chaounani “, we will still have in mind for a long time (like a baby perhaps?) the sound of the song of the Arapaho tribe when leaving the place. Note that there is a storytelling tour with “mother snake”, on another theme.

  • From 0 to 3 years old. Until March 2023. Duration: 1 hour. Next dates in October: 26 to 10 a.m., 28 to 4 p.m., 29 to 10 a.m. and 30 to 4 p.m. fr (and for the variant it’s here). 8 or 14 euros. Free for babies.

Play at MAC VAL with stickers at the foot of the works

In the very south of Paris, not far from the Villejuif – Louis-Aragon and Porte de Choisy stops, the MAC VAL, the Val-de-Marne Contemporary Art Museum, offers a visit sparkling with color as part of the exposure Modern Lovers by Karine Bisch and Nicolas Chardon. Babies are welcomed at the start on a large carpet where everyone introduces themselves, which immediately puts them in a good atmosphere and allows the little ones to socialize. Then we leave strollers and coats in a protected room and off we go! Baby immediately appreciates the large spaces and the play of colored light in the work The style. The facilitators take out different objects and books at each stage: sand, cubes, wooden games, stickers, etc. Baby points to the works and would very much like to touch them, but no, hop, we make a diversion, move on to the next step. Which goes way too fast!

  • From 8 months to 36 months. Until January 4, 2023. Duration: 1 hour. Every first Wednesday of the month, 10 a.m. Free on presentation of the museum entrance ticket. Opening of reservations 15 days before the chosen date and until the Monday preceding it. Registration: [email protected] or 01 43 91 64 23. More information on the museum’s dedicated page.

A sensitive experience at the Louis-Vuitton Foundation

After a walk in the Bois de Boulogne, and a stroll in the Jardin d’acclimatation, what could be more delightful for baby’s pupils than admiring the magnificent water lilies of Claude Monet and the great yellow and bluish valleys of Joan Mitchell. The Louis-Vuitton Foundation, housed in the magnificent building built by Frank Gehry, offers a visual and sensory experience here. To better appreciate the flora sketched by the two painters, babies are invited to touch petals, smell jasmine and even get wet… Just a drop, I promise, no disaster to be expected. The opportunity to discover the American artist Joan Mitchell, who likes to play with lights and colors, like the master impressionist.

From 0 to 24 months. Until November 26. Duration: 45 minutes. Next dates: October 27, 29 and 31, at 10 a.m. 16 euros per adult, 7 euros for babies. More information on the dedicated page.

At the Center Pompidou, a journey through color

The “cosy visit” of the Center Georges-Pompidou is a trip that allows baby to learn colors. “White white, we’re traveling in the land of whites”, hums the hostess to the toddlers, before the whole little group stands in front of a large whiteboard (by Robert Ryman? We didn’t take a notes, with baby still in your arms!). Here we are then in the land of blue, then green… All the colors then come together in a work produced by the Israeli artist Yaacov Agam between 1972 and 1974 for President Georges Pompidou. Red, yellow, blue, green, purple, huge panels of colored Plexiglas reveal a room where 900 shades of color vibrate, with a huge metal ball in the center surmounted by a double triangle. The lines become triangles, the black turns into rich shades depending on the angle of view. Baby is completely captivated by this masterpiece of kinetic art… And so are we!

  • From 0 to 2 years old. October 28, November 25, December 2 and 3, December 30 at 4:30 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. Duration: 45 minutes. 8/10 euros per adult, 8 euros for babies. More information on the dedicated page.

And also: Even if it’s not strictly speaking a museum visit, we strongly recommend the lab of the City of Babies, at the City of Science and Industry, a real kingdom for toddlers!

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