Get into the fall spirit and head downtown to Artechouse’s newest, interactive exhibit Spirt of Autumn, which opens to the public October 1st. I’m sure we can all agree how important it is to expose children to the wonders of all types of art. Artechouse has made it easy to do so with Spirit of Autumn. My teen artist and I visited on a press preview day in the evening and got a taste of all the exhibit has to offer.
The creative team at Artechouse wanted to make this exhibit collaborative, so if you can, head to the back room of the exhibit first. There’s an area where you can draw on paper leaves and insert them into a dropbox. Shortly thereafter, your leaf becomes part of the installation – so plan on coming back often to see the everchanging leaves.
Spirit of Autumn utilizes a state of the art projection system to create a multi-sensory experience for all visitors. Walk into the gallery space and you’ll be taken away by the visuals on the walls. No matter what the crazy, DC weather is providing us, Spirit of Autumn makes it feel like fall. The digital fall playground is where you can interact with the leaves – be it clapping (to make it rain or thunder), kicking the leaves up from the ground or one of our favorites, continuously raising your hands to get the leaves swirling around. The bonus here is that kids (and adults) can use their own imagination to interact with the exhibit.
There are two other rooms that you must explore. “Through the Leaves” will have kids (and adults) squealing with delight as they watch beautifully-colored leaves on the floor swirl about your feet. The “Autumn Dance” room made me feel like I was in my own personal lava lamp. Walk in and you can manipulate colors on the ground and throughout the space with your feet and hands.
So is it kid-friendly? Yes! Kids of all ages will enjoy this interactive exhibit. I’d plan for about 40 to 60 minutes depending on your child’s attention span.
Spirit of Autumn is well worth a visit and I’d recommend securing your tickets soon. With the short run time, it’s likely to sell out.
Additional Information
- Spirit of Autumn is here just through November 5, 2017. It is open to all ages from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and then in the evening for ages 21+ (date night anyone) from 6 to 10 p.m.
- Purchase tickets online, pricing ranges from $8 for kids, students, seniors (65+) and military to $12 for adults. Evening admission is $20.
- There is limited street parking around ARTECHOUSE as well as various parking garages. We found street parking fairly easily in the evening if you’re considering a date night.
- Strollers are NOT allowed on the gallery floor, but there is parking in the lobby.
