There are lots of ways to measure the appeal of Family Sundays at the Cantor Arts Center, but one is especially telltale. Attendance was strong from the start, even though the initiative launched on Super Bowl Sunday. Maybe it was a football-oblivious crowd, but the staff and volunteers took it as a sign of the center's new vibe: Cantor as a broad, participatory community.
The most obvious elements of the free Sunday program are all warm and fuzzy. There are lively tours of the museum that eliminate the silent gulf that children (and many adults) would otherwise encounter when staring at exhibits. Kids are given the supplies to draw personal versions of what captures their imaginations in the galleries, like the painting of a horse that seems irresistible to girls with sketchpads. Then there are the studio activities, where visitors can be overwhelmed by the scent of the colored shaving cream used for paper marbling.
Beyond the educational playfulness, however, is a sweeping effort by Cantor's director, Connie Wolf, to reposition the museum as a hub for cultural energy at Stanford. Wolf, '81, on the job since January 2012, envisions her center's versatility as a resource for everything the burgeoning campus arts district can provide. The collections offer intellectual discovery; the public accessibility connects the University with interest from anywhere in the world; outreach by employees and docents emphasizes a hands-on creativity over technology.
"There has been this misperception," notes Wolf, "that the museum is on the outskirts of the University. . . . We have this incredible opportunity for research and for teaching and for learning."
Wolf is fostering numerous ways of supporting research projects, instigating collaborations between the arts and sciences, and bringing classes and student-produced material into the museum. "We needed engaging ways to involve faculty and graduate students in coming to the museum," she says. That fit smoothly with a more fundamental recognition: "This is a place for anyone to come, whether you are a Nobel Prize-winning scientist or a retired grandparent."
What better catalyst than an efferverscent experience for kids? "By being free," adds Wolf, "everyone can come in and everyone can be treated the same way." As of April, the Sunday events were drawing 150 to 200 adults and children on average.
Julie Geng and Wayne Tcheng of Los Altos Hills got in the habit of bringing their 4- and 8-year-old daughters every weekend. How much did the kids like it? Whatever they make, says their dad, "They show it on Skype to their aunt in Washington, D.C."
