It can be hard to plan a trip to famous museums or historical sites when you’re traveling with children. Let’s face it. You might be interested in seeing 20th century art, but to your child that could be the most boring thing in the world. So how do you find a balance?
There are some historical sites that our children have eagerly experienced – like Rome’s Colosseum – but there are plenty of others that bring on the eye rolls. One of the best ways we’ve kept our children engaged in museums or historical sites that they’re just not interested in is to purchase the children’s audio tour for them.
With their headphones on and a narrator speaking to them directly, we have found that they are more engaged and actually learn a great deal. Plus, they are busy and so we can explore at our own pace.
One of our favorite children’s audio tour was at Windsor Castle. The narrator was a child prince who was walking them through his home. It was absolutely perfect and the boys were so excited to move from room to room. They enjoyed it so much and wanted to see everything the prince directed them to. It allowed us to fully explore each room without someone pulling us along.
The audio tour at the Vatican Museum was another huge hit. They had a map and were given clues to find different “treasures” in the museum. They absolutely loved guiding us through the museum and seeking out each of the different art pieces on their list. We were there much longer than I ever anticipated and the boys actually begged us to stay longer because they hadn’t found everything on the list yet.
At the Mesquita, in Cordoba, Spain, the boys were so excited to learn about how it switched from cathedral to a mosque and back again that we actually didn’t see them the entire time we were there. They were off searching for different parts of the building that they were directed to by the audio recording. And they left with a much better understanding than I had because they had learned so much.
Not all audio tours are as compelling for children, but even at the Musee d’Orsay, which only had tours for very young children (under 6) or adults, the boys enjoyed walking through the museum looking for the art that had associated audio recordings.
Next time you’re entering a museum or historical site and your kids are protesting, I highly recommend that you book the audio tour!
