For Families

Uncover hidden fingerprints around your home like an art detective.

Meet some of the critters that like to munch on art and books at the Museum and learn how experts keep The Met safe.

Make a field guide and use it to classify bugs like a scientist at the museum.

Watch a preview of the exhibition Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts.

Sometimes the colors in paints and dyes come from the natural world, like plants, minerals, and… bugs? Meet the cochineal—the tiny, cactus-loving insect that brings a bright, vibrant red color to art, clothing, and even food—and learn all about the science of pigments.

It’s dinosaur couture! Polymers are everywhere: in your body, in your clothes, and in art all over The Met. Learn about how we use the science of plastics and polymers to preserve art and try to protect the future from waste and pollution.

Art is full of mysteries that can’t be revealed by a quick glance. How do we see what’s hiding inside objects and learn how they were made and repaired? We use an x-ray machine, just like you’d find at the doctor’s office!

Waves: they’re not just in the ocean. We need waves of light to look at art at The Met. But what if we want to take a closer look? Then, we use an electron microscope, a cool tool that uses energy waves to zoom in on art like never before.