FAMILY FRIENDLY: Art museum offers free family day

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art will take families on a safari to explore “Artful Animals,” a free event for all ages from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 18. Visitors will get admission to the museum, a day full of family-friendly performances, art activities and the company of live animals – thanks to the sponsorship of Kendall Auto Group.

“We are very excited to welcome cheetahs from Wildlife Safari to our family day,” says Lisa Abia-Smith, the museum's education director. She notes that the presence of the cheetahs allows children and their parents to “experience endangered animals in person.”

Activities include mask-making, a scavenger hunt to look for animals in the museum’s artwork and painting.

The Schnitzer Museum's Dragon Puppet Theatre will entertain audiences with two performances of a classic tale of Japanese animals in “Kintaro” at 12:15 p.m and 12:45 p.m. The cheetahs will be available for viewing between 1:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.

Prior to the noon start of Family Day, a closing reception for “NewArt Northwest Kids” will be held from 11 a.m. to noon.

Editor's note: "FAMILY FRIENDLY" is a new, occasional feature of AroundtheO. Any unit of the university that is sponsoring a family-friendly event may send information about it to Aria Seligmann at AroundtheO (arias@uoregon.edu or 541-543-1482).