I’ve been patiently waiting for the Asheville museum of art to reopen and now it has! We went and explored firsthand but I thought I’d share photos of what to expect for folks who have kids. They don’t have much information on their website so hopefully this can be helpful for anyone wondering if their kids would have fun or if it would be worth visiting!
If you’re a local or visiting a local, you can get in for free to the Asheville museum of art when checking out a Zoom pass through the library, yay! Admission for kids under 6 is free, you can find other rates and info about planning a trip on their website here.
In addition to regular visits, they have regularly planned programming for kids, check out this page for upcoming events and how to register!
Check out these other posts while you’re here!
- Tips for visiting the Biltmore with kids
- Best Asheville area hikes for kids
- 40+ things to do with kids in Asheville
- 20+ tips for taking kids to art museums!
The museum is right in the heart of busy downtown, with lots of crowds, live music, and eating options near by.
Updated in 2021 – they now have a small booklet for families to work through! Ask at the front desk for one, or go to the kid’s section to grab one. When we visited in summer they also had these fun bingo sheets in the kid’s area as well.
They have a small shop with lots of local products and some fun kids stuff in the corner.
There were several small galleries; I appreciated that a staff member came over to tell us the kids could touch this installation! They enjoyed rooting around in the little boxes.
Another popular piece was this Star Wars set! Definitely take the time to walk through the galleries with your kids, after reminding them to keep their hands in their pockets.
Going all the way to the top brings you to the cafe and rooftop, look out one of the windows to spot gargoyles on the nearby building shown on the left!
The rooftop has seating and two sculptures, I took a picture of only one: Big Yellow Poppies by Donald Sultan, courtesy of the Artist and Lococo Fine Art Publisher. The view in the distance is beautiful with the mountains! 
There weren’t a ton of healthy kid snack type options, but they did have Honest juice boxes.
And now for the main event, the Wells Fargo Art PLAYce! We spent a lot of time here; there are several options for hands-on fun. Here you can see the actual art creating corner that has paper, scissors, tape, crayons, markers, scissors, etc. Also for planning purposes, there is a single room, all gender bathroom right outside the door as well as a water fountain.
One corner has a soft play section that is great for babies, we took advantage too since no little ones were there.
The book nook is beautiful, with a large selection of artsy and non-artsy kids books to read.
Back along the hallway is a beautiful kaleidoscope and more magnet play. 
The opposite wall of the art sections, with more hands on activities.
and a better view of the building stations! There was also a bristle block one I somehow missed in all these angles.
I hope the museum continues to build on youth programming and introduce some scavenger hunts or something else interactive in the galleries, but my kids both had a great time and we will definitely be back! It’s close to lots of other activities so easy to pop in for a few hours and back out.
Pin this overview of the Asheville museum of art for kids with this link or collage image:
Cecile says
The building you mention
Is the Jackson Building (Asheville’s first skyscraper back in the 20’s).
We went to the museum a few weeks ago with a 5 and 6 y.o. and also loved the installation they could touch and the art PLAYce. It was a great way fo mix looking at and touching art.
swoodsonsays says
Oh thank you for that tip! Glad you had a good visit too!