The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, offers free admission all day, 12:15-7 p.m., the first Sunday of each month, courtesy of support from Target. As part of Target Free First Sundays, the museum´s education department plans an array of art activities, performances, films, and refreshments from 1 to 5 p.m. designed to give families an interactive introduction to the museum and current exhibitions.
The theme for the October Family Day is Animals in Art and activities relate to Oudry´s Painted Menagerie: Portraits of Exotic Animals in Eighteenth-Century Europe, which opens October 7—the first Sunday of October, and Houston Wilderness: A Collaboration, a recently opened photography show.
Family Day activities are scheduled throughout the afternoon in both museum gallery buildings, the Caroline Wiess Law Building at 1001 Bissonnet Street and the Audrey Jones Beck Building at 5601 Main Street. Visitors may begin in either building, guided by First Sunday Maps and helpful volunteers. Children are encouraged to collect a sticker at each activity to put on their First Sunday Map, which can be turned in at the end of the day for a special gift.
All-Day Activities, 1-5 p.m.
Art workshops, demonstrations, storytime areas, and sketching in the galleries are ongoing throughout the afternoon on both levels of the Law and Beck buildings. Artist guidance and all materials are provided for the art workshops. In addition, visitors can observe real animals and learn more about how they use their spots, stripes, and horns to survive by visiting the Houston Zoomobile at the Main Street entrance of the Beck Building.
In the Law Building, the activities are:
• face painting
• sketching in the galleries of Houston Wilderness
• fuzzy collage
• creating critters inspired by American sculptor Alexander Calder
• music and movement
In the Beck Building, the activities are:
• coloring Target tote bags
• making bird puppets
• making wire animals
• self-serve storytime areas on both levels
• sketching in the galleries
Timed Events
• 1:30 p.m., African Folklore and Fairytales: Anansi and the Turtle and Cheetah´s Cheeks, a 20-minute short play presented by Kuumba House Dance Theatre and performed by Second Generation Dance Company
• 2:30 p.m., African Folklore and Fairytales: The Woodcutter´s Tale, a 20-minute short play presented by Kuumba House Dance Theatre and performed by Second Generation Dance Company
• 3 p.m., 30-minute dance performance by Kuumba House Dance Theatre
• 2 p.m., Folklore Restaurant, an animated film with characters and animals created from special Japanese paper, recommended for ages 6 and older, 15 minutes
• 2:30 p.m., an adventure story about the friendship between a cheetah and a South African boy, recommended for ages 12 and up, 1 hour and 40 minutes -- www.mfah.org
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