Amherst, MA -- On Saturday, April 13, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Mead will host the annual event "Family Fun Day: Spring Into Art," featuring self-guided scavenger hunts, spring-themed art projects and docent-led gallery tours for visitors of all ages. Visitors are welcome to drop-in anytime between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. This event is free and open to the public, and is made possible by the Friends of the Mead Art Museum. Complimentary refreshments will be served.
Self-guided scavenger hunts focusing on artwork featuring flora, fauna, and landscapes will be available throughout Family Fun Day and are intended for children ages 5 and over with help from adults. Spring-themed art projects, including felt flower bouquets and colorful landscape collages featuring flowers and insects, will also be available throughout Family Fun Day for children to make with help from adults. Kid-friendly docent-led gallery tours will be offered at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., and will focus on landscape paintings and nature-themed art at the Mead, including works on display in the special exhibition Art for All: Additions to the Collection from Antiquity to Today.
"Spring is the perfect time to appreciate the beauty of the natural world - including artists' representations of nature," noted Wendy Somes, coordinator of community programs at the Mead. "At this event, children will have the opportunity to exercise their looking skills, create their own nature-inspired art, eat a snack, and get home in time to enjoy the outdoors, where they can continue to put their looking skills to use. We invite all area families to attend."
"Spring Into Art" is part of the Mead's Family Fun Days series, free community events offered on three Saturdays each year, in the spring, summer, and fall. The next Family Fun Day, "Dig It! A Festival of Discovery with Art, Books and Fossils!" is scheduled for June 22, 2013. It is a collaboration between the Mead Art Museum and the Beneski Museum of Natural History at Amherst College, and the Jones Library Summer Reading Program.