We decided to go downtown and visit MOCA, the Museum of Contemporary Art. On Chang-An West Road, just west of Chung-Shan North Road, the museum is central and easy to access. The front courtyard is long, making it an ideal spot for 3-D art and sculptures. Right now, they have a toy theme going on. My kids were fascinated by the semi-deflated airplane.
There are tables available at one end of the courtyard, and a coffee shop at the other. We chose to get some 7-11 take-out and sit under the trees. We then headed into the museum. Entrance is free for children attending schools in Taiwan. If your school has ID, it is best to take it. I had to answer a quiz about schooling in Taipei to get the free entry. It's NT50 for adults. There are lockers for your bags, that require a NT10 deposit that you get back when you open the locker at the end of the visit.
The foyer has a rest area and information desk. You can rent earphones, or download the soundtrack from a kiosk directly to your device. We did neither. They did tell me that this summer's exhibits should have kid-friendly audio available, which would be wonderful.
The current exhibit, Korean K-POP, runs until June 15th. It is a fantastic exhibit that my children found interesting and a little disturbing. There is one part on the third floor that the volunteers will suggest your steer your children away from. My children were disturbed but compelled by the sculptures. I would suggest skipping that floor if your children are sensitive. The rest of the work stimulated their curiosity, and I regretted not getting the tour or audio tour, because I think it would have helped them understand the works better.
My children decided to try some shots fitting with the theme of the artwork.
The discovery on this trip was the children's art room. Entry is free. It's for children 12 years of age and under. They must be accompanied by an adult. There are three sessions throughout the day. You can check out up-to-date information here. You can go directly to the U12小玩藝教室 directly, without having to pay to see the other exhibits.
The room is updated every time the exhibit in the museum changes, and follows the overall theme of the exhibit. Here, my children are doing screen-printing using animal stencils.
They then built castles with the blocks, and rode their Rody's into the structures, re-enacting the Armageddon-like moving model and video upstairs.
These pictures are made with fabric stuck onto magnets, that you move around a giant magnetic blackboard. This is my "Ducks" work. (When you spend three hours in a museum with your children, you find things to entertain yourself.)
Kyle's "Fisherman".
There are also sensory toys, books, and musical instruments freely available for children to experiment with.
Back in the foyer, the children discovered some free models you can cut out and put together. You then create your own piece for the "K-POP" exhibit.
From 3pm until 10pm, this awesome toy is operational. Space Invader game! You sit inside the robot-tank and shoot aliens on the giant screen a distance away from you. There is a step inside so children can reach the controls and look out the window. It's free to use.
The museum is offering some pretty good art classes and camps over summer. Information is on their website.
We'll definitely go back to see the next exhibit. The art room is great for children from very small to about 10 years old. Suitability of the art exhibits will depend on what your children like and what the themes are.
- MOCA - Museum of Contemporary Art
- 台北市大同區103長安西路39號
- NO.39 Chang-An West Road Taipei, Taiwan 10
- TEL +886 2-2552-3721
- Parking in underground park. Entrance just East of the museum entrance.
- Coffee shop attached to Museum
- Closed Mondays.
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