By Dana Wheatley
October 29th, 2011

Now that my son Gordie is two and a half, I thought he might be old enough to enjoy going to the Glenbow Museum. When I saw that the travelling exhibit right now was on animation, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to give it a try.

This Watch Me Move exhibit has 111 different animated works ranging from full feature length films to clips and shorts. You don’t have a hope of watching everything in one trip, especially not with kids in tow. As you walk through the exhibit there is animation everywhere. Nearly each animated work has a spot to sit and either speakers or headphones so you can listen as well. No photographs or videos are allowed of the displays.

If you are thinking of going to this exhibit, I highly recommend checking out the exhibition guide (which can be found at http://glenbow.org) before you go. Take a look at what you might want to see, including the features films shown in the Second Floor Cinema (different each day of the week).

It would also be wise to consider the ratings of the films shown when planning your trip. Although this exhibit will hold the attention of even small kids, some of the films are of a mature nature and may be inappropriate or even scare your kids. The works that have been rated are all listed in the exhibition guide and those that aren’t but may still be questionable are marked in the guide as well. ‘Rabbit’ has parental guidance suggested as it looks like a children’s cartoon, but the kids proceed to prepare the rabbit for dinner. Jurassic Park is only PG but is on a fairly big screen and has roaring dinosaurs so that may scare some young kids as well.

In addition, some of the areas are pretty dark and one section (I think it’s Apparitions) there are semi-transparent panels that you have to go through. Gordie wasn’t bothered by this, but it may be something to think about if you have a sensitive kid.

The Discovery Room is on the same floor as the majority of the exhibit and has two animation themed crafts as well as some other animation related things to take a look at in a more hands on way. Gordie enjoyed doing one of the crafts but they’re definitely aimed at older preschool/school aged kids.

The animation exhibit was interesting for both of us, but we didn’t stop and watch any one thing for long. In our two hour trip we also managed to fit in the Mavericks exhibit (which is great for kids). I had a great time taking Gordie to the Glenbow and will definitely be doing it again.