Day 22 Of My Favorite Things: The Met Museum Of Art In New York

The Mint Chip Mama - The Met Museum Of Art 2014

Visiting The Met Museum of Art in New York is incredible.  While living in Manhattan, one of my absolute favorite things to do was to take my daughter there – or to any of the city’s amazing museums. The Met, The Guggenheim, The Natural History Museum – these were all our “backyard”. You see – the wonderful trade off for living with no backyard – while living in Manhattan – is that there is so much to do.

The Mint Chip Mama - The Met Museum Of Art

The Met Is Special

The Met holds a very special place in my heart. When I lived only a few short blocks from this museum (for a decade) I visited regularly. I used to visit by myself, with my husband, with my daughter & eventually with both of my children.

The Mint Chip Mama - The Met Museum Of Art
The museum is a mammoth. Vying for the title with its sister museums in Paris (The Louvre) & Madrid (The Prado). It is completely overwhelming. But if you are strategic in your visit then it is doable. By this I mean go see one exhibit or one wing or for one hour.

Temple Of Dendur

One of my all time favorite exhibits is the Temple of Dendur which I visited many times. My love is so deep I even visited her sister exhibit in Madrid. I must have been Egyptian in a former life, I love it. I could just sit and stare for hours.

The Mint Chip Mama - The Met Museum Of Art Temple of Dendur 2014
One of the coolest events I went to while living in Manhattan was the swearing in of Councilman Dan Garodnick – at the Temple of Dendur. I could not believe I was there after hours. I felt like Jennifer Lopez in Maid in Manhattan (incidentally a movie whose screening I went to & danced with JLo at the premiere – huzza!).

The Met Evolved Into A Stroller Friendly Activity

Much like the rest of Manhattan – when my child came along my beloved museum morphed into a space that was a place for me to take her and view through a different lens.

You say world famous museum. I say a HUGE air conditioned space with all kinds of things for her to see.

The Mint Chip Mama - The Met Museum Of Art 2014

From her inaugural visit as an infant in a stroller to her last visit walking out waving goodbye to her favorite statue “baby” while I pushed her baby brother in her stroller. The Met has evolved with us as we have evolved with her.

The Mint Chip Mama - The Met Museum Of Art 2014

So Much For Kids To See And Do

Besides all of the amazing things to see at The Met – the armor room (kids love this!), to the American Wing’s courtyard & cafe, to the Chinese Courtyard – they offer a class for kids included with admission called Start with Art.

The Mint Chip Mama - The Met Museum Of Art 2014

Start With Art – Our Favorite Manhattan Program Of All Time

My daughter and I attended this fantastic program for close to three years. It’s a simple premise – a teacher leads the hour long “class”. A theme is picked, a painting or sculpture relating to the theme is visited. A short explanation or story is read, then the kids get to do an art project. Pretty much it is the best class there is based on the best art collection in the world.

Weekend upon weekend my daughter and I would walk over to The Met for our special morning. Followed by a little lunch in the cafe and a bus (“let’s take the Limited one Mama”) ride home in time for a nap. The most perfect day.

I don’t miss much about living in the city. However, I will openly and happily admit that I miss this one hour – once a week.

The Mint Chip Mama - The Met Museum Of Art 2014 Baby The Lion

Thank you to The Metropolitan Museum of Art for introducing me to the best art in the world. You have always been and always will be one of my favorite things!

*GIVEAWAY*

Everyone  wins today! The Met is pay as you wish – so go and enjoy!

****************************************************************************

The Met Heritage:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s earliest roots date back to 1866 in Paris, France, when a group of Americans agreed to create a “national institution and gallery of art” to bring art and art education to the American people.

On April 13, 1870, The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened to the public in the Dodworth Building at 681 Fifth Avenue. On March 30, 1880, the Museum opened to the public at its current site on Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street. The building has since expanded greatly, and the various additions—built as early as 1888—now completely surround the original structure.

The Museum’s Beaux-Arts Fifth Avenue facade and Great Hall, designed by the architect and founding Museum Trustee Richard Morris Hunt, opened to the public in December 1902.

By the twentieth century, the Museum had become one of the world’s great art centers. Today, the Museum’s two-million-square-foot building houses over two million objects, tens of thousands of which are on view at any given time.

Visit me on Facebook. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter. Love me forever. #MintChipMama31DaystilBTS

Published by Stacey Wallenstein

Stacey Gish Wallenstein created The Mint Chip Mama blog in 2013 to share her love and passion for giving children meaningful life experiences and helping moms like her navigate the challenges and benefits of raising children in the New York metropolitan area. Before becoming a full-time mom in 2010, Stacey spent the better part of the preceding decade as a high-end customer relationship management (CRM) professional for some of the most well-known brands in the hotel, luxury, fashion, and beauty industries, such as Harrah’s Entertainment, Chanel and Christian Dior, Inc. She managed customer loyalty programs for thousands of clients around the country and created social media strategies for a span of industries including healthcare services, restaurants, consumer packaged goods, specialty foods, local attractions and retail locations. After 13 wonderful years in Manhattan (the last three of which spent as a city mom), Stacey and her husband moved to Long Island in 2014, where they now reside with their three children (13, 9, and 6). There, she is a founding member of her local Parenting Center, which provides classes and coordinates events designed to educate and inform parents while fostering an environment of support and friendship within the community. Stacey is also an active PTA member ((including a former & current PTA president) as well as a Girl Scout troop leader. Her musings on motherhood, Manhattan, the suburbs, and more can be found here and on Facebook at The Mint Chip Mama. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Stacey has been active in the New York area alumni organization for nearly twenty years, serving as a board member on the school’s University of Michigan Alumni Club of New York City. She also holds a Masters in Psychology from The New School in New York City. Please check out The Mint Chip Mama in the Press: The New York Post, Psychology Today, NY Metro Parents, New York Family, Parents Magazine, Newsday, News 12, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt: Kids, NerdWallet, Big Apple Kids Guide, and more! The Mint Chip Mama was also nominated as "The Best Blog On Long Island" for 2022 & 2023, one of the Top 20 New York Mom Blogs & Websites, and one of the Top 100 Mom Lifestyle Blogs on the web! For more updates, follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Pinterest.

3 thoughts on “Day 22 Of My Favorite Things: The Met Museum Of Art In New York

  1. One of my favorite places in The Met is a room that overlooks the Temple of Dendur – it has Asian wood chairs that are amazingly comfortable. If you ever need a rest, that’s where to go! Coincidentally, I also attended a swearing in at the Temple of Dendur – when Scott Stringer became Manhattan Borough President. Wait til you see the new design of the plaza in front – they just took the boarding down and you can see the new circular fountains.

%d bloggers like this: