I agree with a previous writer that this museum is not for kids, even though MFAH claims to be family friendly. We just visited the museum earlier this week, and from the moment we stepped into the museum, the guards on several occasions followed our children, despite the fact that they never strayed from our side and did nothing to warrant being followed. In some cases, upon walking into a room, the guards would immediately come over and tell our children without reason to not touch anything. My daughter kept asking why the guards were staring at her, and at one point my husband had to tell a guard to back off when he inappropriately reprimanded our son while he walking though the Jim Turrell light tunnel, which caused him to be distraught. My husband then challenged the guard about what my son did that was problematic, he stated that he was instructed to follow children and be "proactive" in protecting the artwork. This has happened to us in previous visits, when one time a guard actually made our daughter cry for "standing too close" (right next to us) to a piece. While I can understand the need to vigilant, these guards have taken this to an extreme. They reprimand children even when they are with their parents. We know it's not just us because we also witnessed other families with children being harassed by guards.

I actually work in the area of education outreach at a museum in Washington DC, and have traveled extensively with my kids to museums in other countries. Suffice it to say, we've never experienced treatment like at MFAH. It does have a fine collection, but despite attempts on paper to create family-friendly programming, as world-class museums around the world have successfully done, in reality the guards are sending a clear message that children are not welcomed at the museum. We have written a letter to MFAH, and hope they will rectify this problem. It would be a shame if they do not.