Driving across Alabama this summer, we stopped at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art. After walking through the galleries and making the museum guards work a little harder than usual, we decided to give them a break and head for the children’s art studio. What made this children’s gallery stand out is some of the architectural elements. There is a small library in an elevated fort and a mini monolithic art museum that you can go inside.  They also created three dimensional sets of both a Stuart Davis and an Edward Hopper painting from their collection. It reminded me of going to see a three dimensional version of Van Gogh’s “The Bedroom” when we were in Arles, France in 2005. It’s a unique perspective, but also not as good as the painting. My older children would have been more drawn to them if there were props to activate the sets. But there was plenty to do and make in this children’s art studio. We raced cars, built towers, pushed buttons, and played games. We also laughed and danced for a long time in front of the video screen that transformed our movements into color and line. Anything that makes all five of us laugh at the same time is considered “great” in my world. All those pictures are below.

There are at least two more reasons we want to go back to the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. First, they are building a sculpture garden. Second, Montgomery has lots of Korean food! This is surprising because Alabama’s international food options are rare. However, Yelp pops up at least seven Korean restaurants within shouting distance of the museum. That means we will be stopping by at least seven more times. It was the littles’ first taste of Korean food. They tried everything except the pickled jalapeños. Z-man’s favorite was the Bulgogi and the oldest devoured almost the entire plate of Yaki Mandu (dumplings). The restaurant was close to the museum, which means we easily saw new art, burned some energy, and ate good food in one road trip pit stop. Add it to your itinerary!