By Apollo!

Oonae bragged about how her baby knows how to lit crit. I had my own proud moment last weekend at LACMA. Mark and I really wanted to see the Hearst the Collector show, but Iris' museum going patience had worn out. We promised her she would see suits of armor if she would just walk through the show quickly with us.

We talked a bit about whether each suit of armor was for ceremonial or actual battle use. But then she was drawn to a room full of vases. The placards identified them as mostly Greek in origin (with a couple of Etruscan pieces) and 2500 years old. They were not behind glass, though they were a bit high for Iris' vantage point.

We tried to decipher the stories on the vases. I thought that one figure might have been Bacchus because of a jar (perhaps full of wine?) next to him. She impatiently said, "No, that's Apollo. He's holding a lyre." She further pointed out scenes from the big war over the woman--the Trojan war.

Then she pointed at a black vase with minimal decoration. "That's the most expensive because that's the rarest. They almost always use their vases to tell stories."

If you go:

• The NexGen Kids program at LACMA gives free admission to children 17 and under and one accompanying adult per child. The link above takes you to a page showing all the activities for kids and families at LACMA.
• LACMA Hours and directions
• We like to go on Sundays because the metered street parking is free.
• Many families eat nearby at the farmers' market or the Grove, but we prefer Little Ethiopia. Every restaurant we tried has been pretty good. We usually split a vegetarian sampler and a doro wot combo family style.