Family activities at the AGA provide opportunities for families to connect to exhibitions through exploratory programs focused on play, hands-on art-making and exciting in-gallery experiences.
Tours for Tots
Drop-in Wednesday mornings for these family fun adventures with art! Visits include Gallery explorations, art-making, story-telling, and more! Each Art Adventure has a different theme related to current exhibitions and promotes early childhood learning skills such as literacy, numeracy, community awareness and creative expression.
For families and kids aged 3-5
Wednesdays, 10-11 am
Free with Gallery admission
Please note that the Tours for Tots program is designed for children aged 3-5 accompanied by an adult. Day care and other community groups can book a School Program here.
May 8
Moves like a….
Discover art through movement activities! Action and motion are all part of this Gallery exploration as we dance, pose or act out what we see in the art surrounding us.
May 15
The FUNdamentals
What are the fundamentals of art? Learn how to look for the different lines, shapes, colours and textures that can be found in art at the AGA. See how many of these elements you can include in your very own art book as we search and explore the Gallery.
May 22
Old Art vs. New Art
What is old art and what is new art? We will explore the art in New Acquisitions: Mitchell Endowment, and try to decide what makes art new or old. We will be inspired to create our own new contemporary art with an old twist.
May 29
Sounds like a…
Inspired by the new exhibition, The Piano, we will bang, stomp and boom our way through the AGA! Create your own instrument out of found materials before testing how it sounds in different spaces around the Gallery. Where can we be the loudest? Where can we be the quietest?
June 5
Big vs. Small
Explore art that is big, art that is small and art that is short or tall! How does the size of art work affect how we see it? Have fun comparing differences in size and create your own “size specific” art in the atrium!
June 12
Super Send-off
We will have one final play in the BMO World of Creativity: Method and Madness—a place where geometric shapes and primary colours form the language, legends and landscape of an imaginary place.
June 19
Welcome to summer!
We will celebrate the arrival of summer by exploring the Gallery inside and out! We will visit the sculpture terrace and discover that art is all around us at the AGA.
June 26
2D to 3D
Put on your imagination hats, and get ready to transform art from 2D into 3D. Inspired by 2D works in the Gallery, we will create our own 3D paper sculpture.
BMO All Day Sundays
Art activities for all ages
Noon-4 pm
Free with Gallery Admission
BMO All Day Sundays at your AGA feature an afternoon packed full of engaging art-making and exploration! With exciting programs and projects that tie into our current exhibitions, guests of all ages are encouraged to join in and have fun!
May 26
Perfect Pitch
The Winspear Centre makes a special visit to the AGA at the Perfect Pitch BMO All Day Sunday! Inspired by the exhibition The Piano, this All Day Sunday will feature engaging programming, including a hands-on Instrument Petting Zoo, courtesy of the Winspear Centre. Drop by between 12-4 pm to make your own instrument, take part in a jamming session, listen to music and much more!
June 30
Cabinets of Curiosity
Join us for the opening of Lyndal Osborne’s Cabinet of Curiosity, the new exhibition in the BMO World of Creativity. Explore the new space and add your own curious creations to our collaborative cabinet. When you’re done, share a story about your object’s history to the group.
July 21
Liquid State
Experiment with water-based art-making techniques at this BMO All Day Sunday. Taking cues from the exhibition Water into Art: British Watercolours from the Victoria and Alberta Museum, 1750 to 1950, guests will get creative with watercolour paint and pencil crayons, ink, wax resist and even bubbles!
August 18
Snap Shots
Get inspired by the works in the exhibition 19th Century British Photographs from the National Gallery of Canada! Take part in packing tape transfers, scratch projections and experiment with exposure paper. Then make your own still life portrait using the materials provided!
View music video from All Day Sunday: Make Some Noise! on May 9, 2010 >
AGA Birthday Parties
The Art Gallery of Alberta offers birthday parties for children aged 4 years and up. Party bookings are available on weekends and include a gallery exploration, exciting studio project and time for birthday fun in the Singhmar Centre for Art Education!
Program Cost
$160 / $144 AGA Members (plus GST)
Program cost includes a group of up to 15 children and four supervising adults
$9/person thereafter
This two hour program includes:
- A Gallery Educator to lead your program
- A 20-30 Minutes Gallery tour of exhibitions connected to your studio project
- A studio art project to take home (see below for project options)
- Time for birthday festivities (Gifts, snacks, cake, etc…)
- Full use of a studio space for 2 hours
- Access to a fridge and limited storage space
The AGA does not provide catering services but parties are welcome to bring their own refreshments. Up to four supervising adults are free with your program cost (but expected to supervise!)
Is 2 hours just not enough time? The studio space can be rented for an additional $60/hour. Your Gallery Educator will remain with your group to assist you for this time.
Project Options
Choose from one of the options below for your Birthday Party program.
1. Play on Architecture
Ages 4+
Explore the architecture of the AGA from the inside out with storytelling, gallery activities and building exercises! In the studio, create a 3-D architectural sculpture from wood blocks and then paint your creation.
2. Painted Places
Ages 6+
Investigate spaces and place throughout the Gallery with searching and sketching activities. In the studio, work with oil pastels, coloured inks and watercolour paints to create a painted place of your own.
3. Colour Party!
Ongoing
Ages 4+
Play with painting and music in this project! Explore the Gallery to find out how artists use colour to create moods, then experiment with colour mixing to create your own abstract painting while listening to different moods in music. All the paintings together will create a colourful mural!
Program Booking
To book a birthday party, please fill out the online booking form. Any cancellations or changes to your booking(s) must be made within one week of your party booking. Failure to do so will result in a $35 cancellation fee.
BMO World of Creativity
The BMO World of Creativity is an interactive, hands-on space where children and their grown-ups can explore their creativity. BMO World of Creativity exhibitions and themes change from year-to-year.
