Our Favorite Events For Kids: Ormond Art Museum And Gardens

The Ormond Memorial Art Museum is more than just a museum. It is a beautiful place in the heart of Ormond Beach to take the whole family to be inspired by the latest exhibits and picturesque gardens. Beyond its exhibits and gorgeous gardens, the Ormond Memorial Art Museum hosts a robust calendar of public programs and events for the entire family. From the monthly family art night to Dogapalooza, each event encourages children and adults to take part in creative activities. The fun-filled unforgettable family art experiences are designed to nurture creative potential through inspiring art, outdoor adventures, and special events that encourage children to create, imagine, learn, and explore!

Starry, Starry Night

Celebrate art and culture while kicking off the new year with a Friday night gallery walk called “Starry Starry Night.” This January 11th, Granada will be buzzing along the strip between The Casements and Ormond Memorial Art Museum. History and the art district come alive under a starry night with a glowing artist’s market on the Casements lawn, complemented by food, wine & entertainment. So in the spirit of Vincent Van Gogh, bring out the kids to enjoy the starry night which is “more alive and richly colored than the day.”

Summer Camp

Campers exercise imagination and self-expression through four uniquely themed camps at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum, designed to challenge and inspire. Led by a team of creative museum educators and artists, young artists will travel across the globe and throughout history to explore a variety of techniques in drawing, painting, mixed media, and sculpture. Each week long camp encourages children to take risks and gain confidence through the exploration of new materials. As a final step of the journey, the young artists showcase their work in a special exhibition for families and friends.

Ormond Art Club

Students can now express their creativity after school in the Ormond Art Memorial Museum’s newest art club for kids. The “Ormond Art Club” offers after-school classes for multiple ages and include hands-on instruction in a variety of media. The group meets Wednesdays from 2:30-4:00 pm and is led by Colleen Flannery, an award-winning Mehndi artist. Colleen’s love of art and children led her to earn a teaching certificate in the Waldorf school system. Murals, illustrations in pencil, paint or needle felted wool are all in her repertoire as well as sculpting with clay, paper-mache, fabric, wool and a variety of found materials. Students will be taught finger knitting, wooden flower braiding, string art nail boards, and bug-lizard teepees among many of the creative ideas Colleen has dreamed up. Each session is $25 for museum members and $28 for future members.

Storytime

Families gathered in the Memorial Gardens for an enchanted “Storytime under the Stars.”  The festively lit gazebo provided a perfect backdrop for a holiday story led by storyteller, Kathy Warfel. Following the story, families enjoyed cookies and cocoa, served under the garden canopy and steps away from the gazebo in the historic Emmons Cottage. If you missed it this year, make sure you mark your calendar for next year for this magical imagination-themed experience.  The next Storytime in the Galleries will be a “Winter Edition” led by Kathy Warfel on Thursday, January 10, 5-5:45pm at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum.

Free Family Art Night

Free Family Art Night is a busy and colorful mess, which means families usually feel right at home the moment they walk through the doors of the Ormond Memorial Art Museum & Gardens.  With the goal of showing people that the museum is more than just a place to simply look at art, the family art nights are designed to be a place for families to create art – together!  Held on the first Friday of the month, instructor, Linda King encourages children to generate ideas and make art free of restrictions or boundaries. The project is typically influenced by the art show on display or by the season, and is a great hands-on learning opportunity for introducing art and different artistic mediums to children. Free Family Art Night is always free of charge and open to the public the first Friday of every month from 6:00pm to 7:30pm.

Dogapalooza

It’s official: there is nothing cuter in Volusia County. Hosted by the Ormond Memorial Art Museum, this festive family-friendly event celebrates the human-animal bond as the cuteness spreads throughout their gardens, parking lot and museum, giving your boho dog plenty of shade and room to roll about leisurely in the grass. Dogapalooza will help fundraise for the Halifax Humane Society, Great Dawg Rescue and the pet food drive will benefit Sophie’s Circle Dog Rescue. The event features activities like dog hair chalking, pups & crafts, as well as “Pup-arrazi” event photography. Dogs will also be able to be nominated to be the face of the next Dogapalooza.

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See You Soon,

XOXO