Viewing Art with Babies: First Encounters

Viewing Art with Babies demonstrates how to facilitate quality art viewing experiences with babies from as young as 2 months old. Such experiences can help to nurture early literacy and receptive language skills, sensory stimulation, and early brain development.

Based on the author’s research with babies in New Zealand, Australia, Romania, England, and the U.S., the book provides the reader with information about early brain, vision, sensory and language development, and the aesthetic preferences of babies. Danko-McGhee provides details about the type of art that babies like, how to display art in the learning environment, and how to interact with a baby when viewing art. Case studies of international museums, national museums, and community agencies that have had success with engaging babies in art viewing experiences have been included in the book as a way of demonstrating how theory and research can be successfully put into practice.

Viewing Art with Babies details practical ways through which museum practitioners, early childhood and community educators, and parents can provide artviewing experiences in the museum, early childhood classroom or even their own home. It will be of interest to practitioners and parents around the world, and those engaged in the study of museum education.

Kathy Danko-McGhee, Ph.D., is the owner of First Encounters, LLC, an art studio that provides educational experiences for babies and toddlers. She is the former Director of Education at the Toledo Museum of Art and led the museum’s efforts to be at the forefront of teaching visual literacy. During her tenure there, Dr. Danko-McGhee was responsible for creating Baby Tours, Toddler Tours, and spearheaded the publication of The Art of Seeing Art: A, B, and SEE for preschool children, as well as The Art of Seeing Art for Babies. Under her leadership, the museum provided many interactive learning experiences in the galleries. Dr. Danko-McGhee was instrumental in bringing the 2014 International Visual Literacy Conference to the museum.