Activities for Kids

Interactive Public Art for the Whole Family

Prove to the kids once and for all that art can be fun (and free)!

By Amanda Freerksen May 23, 2016

If one more museum guard gives you the evil eye because your preschooler is giggling and imitating dance moves in front of a Degas painting, then it’s time to take a new approach to art appreciation. San Diego is brimming with interactive public art — you just need to know where to look. Here’s your guide to installations around the county that invite participants to sit on, play with, touch, look and listen to art.

Downtown Central Library Displays

There’s more to love at the Downtown Central Library besides an awesome kids' library and floor after floor of books. Artwork is a big deal there, too. How could you miss the dioramas with floating doll heads known as Corpus Callosum, by artists Einar and Jamex de la Torre, on the first floor elevators? Did you know the library is also home to three other site-specific artworks? One that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser is also a mouthful to say. Recreations of Furniture Found Discarded in Alleys and on Curbs While Driving Around San Diego Several Bright Summer Afternoons with David, by artist Roy McMakin, includes 25 pieces of bright blue furniture that all are welcome to climb atop, relax and enjoy.

330 Park Blvd.
San Diego, Ca
619-236-5800
Online: sandiego.gov

Did we miss your favorite interactive public artwork? Tell us about it in the comments below.

— Amanda Freerksen (photos too, unless otherwise noted)