Review of Family Fun Workshops at The Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany, IN

The Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany, Indiana offers free Family Fun Workshops one Saturday a month from 10am to Noon. My kids and I headed up there this month, and we were thrilled by the whole experience!

The Family Workshops are located in the basement of the Museum, with a big space and lots of table room. The Saturday we attended, my kids worked with clay. The materials were all free, and my kids got to keep what they made. The staff was very friendly, helpful, allowed the kids to do the work themselves, and they allowed the kids to be creative. There were a variety of age groups there, and the staff were very patient. It was a great experience.

The Carnegie Center itself is a real treasure. They have temporary exhibits (about 10 weeks long) and three permanent exhibits including an exhibit of hand-made, moving dioramas that my kids loved looking at, an award-winning Underground Railroad exhibit, and an exhibit on the Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols (Lucy lived an interesting life before living out the rest of her days in New Albany). The exhibits have a LOT of reading and an hour long movie that my kids didn’t care for, but I really enjoyed all of the exhibits and wish I had more time!

While we were there, one of the temporary exhibits was an art exhibit of portraits. On the wall, there were 5 different color backpacks, each filled with art supplies for kids to create their own art. Then, the kids got to hang their own art up on the wall next to the exhibit – my kids thought that was amazing!

The staff member there was so friendly, knowledgeable, and really great with my kids. And did I mention the Carnegie Center is always free admission?! My kids enjoyed the whole morning, and we can’t wait to go back for another free Family Fun Workshop soon!

By Guest Contributor: Caryn