Art&Seek Jr. is one mom‘s quest to find activities to end the seemingly endless chorus of the “I’m Bored Blues” while having fun herself.  Impossible you say? Check back on Tuesdays for kid-friendly events that are fun for adults, too

I have a confession to make: I’m what’s called “calendar impaired.” I have this knack for unknowingly scheduling mundane activities (that my child positively loathes) at the exact same time that the FUN-O-RAMA KID SPECTACULAR is happening. At least in Rose’s mind it seems that way.

Case in point, this weekend we’re doing the dreaded annual six-family garage sale, hereafter known as DASFGS. If I had bothered to look at a calendar when planning the DASFGS, I would have seen that this weekend is chock-full of so many things that even if we weren’t doing the DASFGS we would have had trouble squeezing them all in. For those of you who aren’t burdened by the DASFGS, here’s a few you should try to catch.

Courtesy of the Meadows Museum

On Saturday, as part of the “The Invention of Glory: Afonso V and the Pastrana Tapestries” exhibition, the Meadows Museum is hosting a medieval style event just for children. Outside, in the museum plaza and sculpture garden, there will be strolling troubadours, jesters, medieval jousting and dancers portrayed by SMU arts students. Falconers from American Hawking also will be on hand. Inside the museum, kids can create knight and princess crafts, look for art treasures in a scavenger hunt and take a hands-on look at armor used by contemporary sword-fighters with Schola St. George Medieval and Renaissance Swordsmanship.

On Sunday, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art is hosting a family fun day. I love this one because kids can explore the artists on display at the Amon Carter who created masterpieces at a young age, and then create inspired artworks of their own. They can make a newspaper hat like the boy in William Harnett’s Attention Company!, create their own landscape in an activity inspired by Frederic Edwin Church’s New England Landscape or draw their own still life and practice shading it like Arthur Dove’s The Lobster.

Courtesy of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art

Finally, Sunday is Earth Day. So if you and the kids are looking for something “earthy” to do, my suggestion would be to head down to Fair Park for Earth Day Dallas and take part in the Picnic for the Planet. The Nature Conservancy of Texas will be hosting picnics twice an hour, every hour between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. in an attempt to break the world record for the largest simultaneous global picnic. How cool is that? The picnic at Fair Park will be one of hundreds of picnics taking place around the world, from New York to Nevada, Africa to Australia. You can pack a lunch or purchase something on site.

The DASFGS better yield some big bucks, because we’re really missing out this weekend.

Therese Powell is an Art&Seek calendar coordinator and KERA-TV producer.  She spends most of her free time seeking out adventures for her 6-year-old daughter, Rose.  Tell us about your time at the museums or the Picnic for the Planet or clue us in to your ideas for quirky kid adventures by leaving a comment. Or e-mail Therese at [email protected].