RISD Art Museum

5/10😊😊😊😊😊 Mommy Approved Smiling Faces

http://risdmuseum.org

20 North Main Street Providence, RI 02973

(401)454-6500

I love art and appreciate the time and skill invested in each elaborate piece. This is why I wanted to check out the RISD Art Museum with my kids and my 12 year-old niece. These kids draw daily, and love to make “crafts.” The museum is a very beautiful building with diverse exhibits throughout, so there is something for everyone’s interests. From fashion to contemporary paintings, to porcelain, egyptian and photography they really have an array of options. Plus, there are other exhibits that change periodically . Currently, there is a metal working / silver Gorham display which is every little girl’s dream because it has a nice shiny tea set and a vanity! These are only a couple of the items that were on display. My kids wanted to touch everything, and that simply was not permitted ( makes sense, if you want to preserve it so I get it. ). But, with that being said, it wasn’t a great fit for us. I’m happy we shared the experience together though.

Due to not being age appropriate for MY kids, I rated this place a 5 out of 10 Mommy approved smiley faces. It was very interesting to visit for me personally though. The building has beautiful architecture, with elegant staircases, natural lighting, and spacious rooms with high ceilings. It was very nice to be inside walking around from room to room (almost felt like we were opening up secret treasures as we walked into each room, because we didn’t know what was in store for us around each corner.) There’s an elevator and also several sprawling staircases, one even has a large intricate glass chandelier, that alone is worth seeing.

Parking at the museum is somewhat of a pain. We hunted for a spot for about 5-10 minutes looking for street parking, and finally found one on Bennefit Street. Some of the staff followed us around like secret service agents with suites and radios (probably because they were worried my kids would damage something). To be honest it was pretty off-putting. NO FOOD / DRINKS are allowed in the museum, but free lockers are provided to store your items with a key-lock bracelet that correlates to each locker. (nice touch)

The Skinny:

Inside : Good place to walk around indoors for a couple of hours if you like art. Sundays are FREE so that’s great! The displays are well preserved and vast with something for everyone’s taste. Small “garden” with red tables and chairs and stone statues to relax or get some air. Beautiful location in the heart of Rhode Island’s capital. There’s a nice neighborhood surrounding the museum to sit and eat in an enclosed spacious park, or walk around to grab a bite to eat. The museum also has a cafe named “Pearl” which we didn’t eat at due to our plan for a picnic (it was the perfect temperature that day to be outside -just right.) We did however catch a glimpse of some of their coffees and snacks, and they looked appetizing.
Cost : Adults 18 + $15, seniors $12, under 18 FREE, students $8 with college ID, FREE on sundays and every third Thursday of the month from 5-9pm.
Duration time : an hour for us, but I kind of figured it would be short due to their ages-older kids would spend more time
Weather : Any as this is an indoor location for the most part (option to go outdoors, but if you don’t, due to bad weather, or anything else the exteririor is small so you won’t be missing much)
Hours : Tuesdays -Sundays 10-5, third thursdays of every month open until 9 pm