Guggenheim's Parent Time Out Corner

GUGGENHEIM’S PARENT TIME OUT CORNER

Shawn Hara City of Longview Director of Community Relations

“ARE YOU READY TO SEE THE NEXT THING?” I asked my kids for the umpteenth time during the whirlwind trip.

“Not yet, we need to finish these drawings,” they responded as they slowly perfected their postcard-size masterpieces on plain white paper.

In the midst of the busiest, most hectic city in the US, we quietly waited in a tucked away nook of the iconic Guggenheim museum. We waited for art to happen.

Prior to arrival to the museum, we had feverishly rushed around the Big Apple, packing in as many of the attractions as possible. The Met, Times Square, the Harry Potter store, One World Trade Center, back to the Harry Potter Store, the Intrepid, the Lego Store, the Public Library, the Subway, Rockefeller Center, Battery Park, more Harry Potter Store, and lots and lots of walking. Before we made the trip, we showed our kids pictures and videos of what to expect, and we mapped out a full itinerary to make the most of our days.

Whenever we travel, we enjoy experiencing as much as we can. We have utilized our reciprocal museum memberships at LMFA and Longview World of Wonders to explore dozens of museums around the country. The Guggenheim isn’t a reciprocal museum member, but children under 12 are free.

The architecturally beautiful Guggenheim was on the list for today. I had planned for us to explore the spiraling expanse of the museum just like they saw in Jim Carey’s “Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” and then make our way to an afternoon baseball game at Yankee Stadium. What I hadn’t allotted time for was a creative respite.

As we walked up the spiral galleries though, my children discovered a quiet room beautifully lined with warm wood inside the otherwise all white building. On the table were pencils and paper. The artwork of previous small guests was displayed on the walls, hanging from a wire with clips. My kids immediately began to draw, determined their artwork would become part of the museum.

Sitting at the table, watching our kids’ imagination translated onto the page, the peacefulness of the small room gave our bodies and minds a moment to relax. After a moment of rest though, my mind returned to the day’s timeline, knowing the first pitch would be thrown soon. “With all the things to see, this is what they want to do?” I anxiously wondered. I had been to the Guggenheim before, but I hadn’t noticed this room then. I was probably too focused on the eclectic art as I checked each gallery off my completion list. When my kids had discovered this room, their focus was set squarely on creating their mark. So, I took a deep breath, and we let the timeline vanish into the quiet.

LISTEN CLOSELY AND ATTUNE YOURSELF TO THE SOUND OF THE ROOM. DRAW WHAT YOU HEAR IN THE SPACE BELOW.

The kids finished their drawing, and then made another. It wasn’t on the itinerary, but it was the pause we needed.

We missed the start of the game, and that was perfectly fine. Prolonging the quiet and creating art were the new order for the moment. I actually don’t recall what they drew on those pages, but I will always remember their joy in that small room in the giant city.