It's First Thursday again! This month, we're focusing on the Seattle Art Museum. I asked Jennifer Willson and Davida Ingram of SAM's education division to describe the exhibits that kids love most.

Ingram observes that kids see a museum in a different way than adults: from the three-foot-tall perspective. And Ingram knows what kids like. I've seen her child-friendly SAM tours in action, and highly recommend catching one of her engaging talks.

Here are the works, areas and rooms that kids appreciate, in no particular order:

1. The African collection (fourth floor), where kids can view the masks and masqueraders. They'll also see an 8-foot long Mercedes-Benz coffin.

2. It's my worst nightmare! An enormous mouse sits upon a sleeping man in the 7 1/2 foot-tall "Man Und Maus" (third floor) piece.

3. The Family Room (third floor), where SAM staff just set out new blocks, and dress-up aprons match the Victorian art pieces outside.

4. An enormous (7 feet by 10 1/2 feet) robe made from dogtags, titled "Some/One" (third floor)

5. The house posts in the Native American galleries (third floor).

6. "The Shape of Sound" mural, depicting a boy's yells (Rainier Lobby Niche). Walk underneath the mural, and view the tendrils of noise swirling inside his head. After you go, watch this short time-lapse video showing the mural's creation.

7. Next to admission, watch out for Flying Ford Tauruses. I mean, who doesn't love a good car crash?

8. The ceramic potty in the third floor gallery, titled "John With Art." Whether your child laughs uproariously (my son) or sneers in disgust (my daughter), he or she won't forget that toilet.

9. The WaMu Open Studio (second floor), where kids can draw and sketch.

10. The play terrace outside the TASTE restaurant.

See these at SAM, and pick up the "Please Growl!" pamphlet upon entering; the accompanying map and text show family-friendly pieces throughout the museum.

Yay for art!

E-mail Lora at littlekidsbigcity@nwsource.com. Read more about free days in Seattle's museums at this previous post.

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