Kids & Families (Age 5 to 12 years)

All ages (Kids under 13 must be accompanied by an adult) | Join us in the Smurfit WestRock Art Education Center studios anytime between noon and 3 pm on the first Sunday of every month! Each Open Studio Sunday features a new art activity inspired by objects from VMFA’s world–class collections or special exhibitions.

Ages 5–8 | Immerse yourself in a fun variety of painting techniques that focus on texture and design elements. Use traditional and non-traditional applications to create artistic painted surfaces on canvas.

Instructor: Elizabeth Daly

Ages 5–8 | Put your lab coats on: It’s time for some ooey-gooey artsy science experiments! Learn about color mixing and scientific reactions while making crazy color-changing slime with some silly or spooky add-ins. 

Instructor: Elizabeth Daly

Ages 5–8 | Feel the beat, then make it visual! Explore how music and rhythm can inspire colorful expressive artwork while discovering musical themes and instruments found in art around the museum.

Instructor: Elizabeth Daly

Ages 5–8 | Refine your artistic talents while learning how to create a delectable still life with a warm color palette. Add a dash of fun by using food as a printing medium and soft pastels for adding details to your unique composition. 

Instructor: Elizabeth Daly

Ages 5–8 | Celebrate Native American Heritage Month by honoring the history and creativity of various cultures. Connect traditional legends to purposeful artmaking as inspired by the ingenuity and reverence for nature held by Indigenous peoples.

Instructor: Elizabeth Daly

Ages 5–8 | With a focus on patterns and lines, learn about stained glass artworks—from Frank Lloyd Wright’s geometric shapes and straight lines to Louis Comfort Tiffany’s organic forms and 
vibrant colors—to inspire your own “stained glass” suncatchers. 

Instructor: Elizabeth Daly

Ages 5–8 | Gain a basic understanding of elements of graphic design while venturing through the galleries, filling your sketchbook with symbols, icons, and illustrations along the way. Every stop is a new discovery!

Instructor: Elizabeth Daly

Ages 5–8 | Stroll through the galleries in search of shiny examples of all things bright and shiny, from gilded frames to golden treasures! Decorate your own frames, boxes, and other gifts that glisten using metallic paints, foils, and sparkly embellishments.

Instructor: Elizabeth Daly

Ages 9–12 | Capture the essence of autumn on a canvas while exploring color mixing, painting applications, and the basics of perspective. View natural landscapes both in the galleries and outside for ideas to inspire your own colorful compositions. 

Instructor: Dan Kaczka

Ages 9–12 | Inspired by upcoming cultural celebrations and traditions such as Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead), focus on traditions and art elements to sculpt and design “sugar skulls” with air-dry clay, colorful paints, and other adornments.  

Instructor: Dan Kaczka

Ages 9–12 | Let music be your muse! Explore visual art that combines songs with expression in this melody-inspired experience that engages multiple senses at once.   

Instructor: Dan Kaczka

Ages 9–12 | Piece together a colorful collage that focuses on pattern, imagery, and intentionally selected themes. Cut, glue, and assemble a myriad of materials that reflect works from artists in our American collection.

Instructor: Dan Kaczka

Ages 9–12 | Welcome the season of thanks by exploring the abundance of nature. View examples of still lifes from the museum’s collection to inspire illustrations that capture the plentiful treasures of the natural world.

Instructor: Dan Kaczka

Ages 9–12 | Go on a drawing adventure through the galleries and participate in creative art challenges, prompts, and exercises to boost your drawing abilities, skill, and confidence.

Instructor: Dan Kaczka

Ages 9–12 | Inspired by VMFA’s upcoming expansion, learn about architectural styles and elements that can be used to construct a three-dimensional model of your own mini museum.

Instructor: Dan Kaczka

Ages 9–12 | Share your love of art with someone special! Combining a variety of studio skills, have fun making creative gifts and cards with mixed media materials and imagination. 

Instructor: Dan Kaczka

Ages 5–8 | Using simple looms and colorful yarn, learn the basics of weaving to fabricate your own miniature designs inspired by Indigenous American creators and artistry. (Students can take their cardboard looms home!) 

Instructor: Lauren Bleam

Ages 5–8 | Gain inspiration from a menagerie of animals found in the galleries. Draw, paint, and sculpt your very own crafty creatures, from building basic forms to adding tiny textures and details!

Instructor: Catherine Purdy

Ages 5–8 | Share your passion for art and science with friends and family this season! Observe scientific reactions and properties while making fluffy cloud dough, bouncy balls, and more. All projects include packaging and gift bagging.

Instructor: Elizabeth Daly

Ages 9–12 | Dive into hands-on projects inspired by Indigenous American traditions and the  wonders of our national parks! Learn about the cultural and historical significance of the land to various Indigenous American cultures and discover how art objects and techniques reflect each individual area’s landscape, flora, and fauna.

Instructor: Elizabeth Daly

Ages 9–12 | Create miniature works of art with colorful polymer clays! Discover methods to mix, mold, and form this clay-like material to craft tiny, three-dimensional sculptural scenes from your 
own imagination.

Instructor: Alex Parrish

Ages 9–12 | Explore the wonderful world of watercolor painting and hand-lettering while designing custom cards for loved ones. Experiment with watercolor washes, blooms, and brush control to create wintery scenes and learn basic calligraphy to write heartfelt greetings for the season. 

Instructor: Madeleine Eliason

Ages 5–12, accompanied by an adult | Craft a wreath to welcome friends and family for the upcoming holiday season! Choose from an array of ribbons, bows, florals, and other embellishments to create seasonal décor for your front door.    

Instructor: Lindsay Steele

Ages 5–12, accompanied by an adult | Build a beautiful—and delectable—architectural structure out of gingerbread pieces, royal icing, and a buffet of colorful candies!
This workshop may not be suitable for individuals with severe food allergies. Email questions to youthstudio@VMFA.museum.  

Instructor: Alex Parrish

Ages 5–12, accompanied by an adult | Build a beautiful—and delectable—architectural structure out of gingerbread pieces, royal icing, and a buffet of colorful candies!  
Due to high demand, we’ve added another workshop on Saturday! Please only register for one gingerbread workshop (F4 or F5). Also note that workshops may not be suitable for individuals with severe food allergies. Email questions to youthstudio@VMFA.museum.

Instructor: Alex Parrish