Jepson Center & Telfair Children's Art Museum (CAM) — Attraction in Savannah

I was disappointed in my first visit back to the Jepson Center for the Arts in over 14 years. I was so impressed with my experience many years ago, especially with the children's area of the Center. It seemed very cutting-edge at the time. I am an Art History and Museum Studies grad and used to work in a similar institution. While I recognize the Jepson is in the process of building a brand new children's area, I don't understand why some sort of temporary child friendly area couldn't be available during this time. During this trip, we went to the Open Art Studio time and was in the studio for at least ten minutes before any staff came in. Walking in, I assumed this area must not be staffed and I let my children sit at a table and create art using the materials strewn all over the tables. The art studio was quite a cluttered mess. The tables were covered with supplies in a messy manner with all sorts of tools, papers, and other people's art projects everywhere around the room. It was totally unclear what could be touched or used and what shouldn't be used. I don't know if this is typical or if its this disorganized related to the renovation or some other temporary and specific reason. However, it was definitely messy and chaotic on this particular day. After awhile, a staff member walked in and apologized for not being there when we had first arrived, saying she was talking to someone and that was why she wasn't there when we had started. She seemed slightly bothered that we weren't making the "allocated or suggested" art project. How would we know what to make when there was no signage or directions at all? I used to oversee a similar but much larger museum's art studio and art programs and none of this would have ever been acceptable. If we had suggested ideas for a particular table, there was signage with each step listed and child-made and adult-made examples to go along with it (double-sided even). Of course, the guests were allowed to make whatever they wanted but the materials and supplies were never just strewn everywhere and were always reasonably organized so the guests would have room to work at the tables and have a pleasant experience. The staff member also seemed concerned that we might use too many of some specific materials. Whether this was a reasonable concern or not, this could have been prevented with the "expensive" or "special items" not easily accessible lying around on the tables for children to see and touch at their level. I found the experience to be very strange. I hope our next experience there is a much better one. Greater effort and oversight into the daily experience of the guests should be considered. I did appreciate the friendliness and professionalsm that I received at...

Today we visited the Jepson Center. Our main purpose for visiting was for the artzeum as we had 7 children in our party. The woman at the front desk of the museum was pleasant and directed us to what the museum had to offer. Unfortunately that was the ONLY pleasant experience we had on our visit. As soon as we paid we headed over to the drop-in art center where children are supposed to be welcome to create a craft out of materials such as paper plates, construction paper, markers, stickers, glue, etc...While my four year old appreciated this, my 8,9 & 10 year old were bored. My main complaint is the woman working the art section. She was unbelievably impatient and rude with our children. At one point she actually grabbed my four year old daughters hand and scolded her for reaching across the table to grab some glue. I WAS NOT HAPPY. She also tried to force my children to create crafts that she had in mind and didn't want them to go in their own direction. We decided to wrap it up and head over to the artzeum section. The artzeum was a HUGE disappointment. At best it would entertain 2-4 year olds for maybe 30 min. There are block, books, magnets and drawing boards. They say it's 1,000 sq. foot area but it feels like the size of a large living room. It is small and there is just not that much to offer. We had an employee come up and ask our children to lower their voices. I understand we were in a museum but at the same time, we were in the children's section and if you are going to invite children to play in a museum, expect some noise.You may be thinking that maybe my kids were being unruly or out of control but let me assure you, they weren't. Beside the woman at the front desk all other employees were rude and unwelcoming and we just wanted to leave. We will never visit this museum again and I would not recommend it to anyone. I also feel it is overpriced if you are looking for something to do with children. Yes, children under 12 are free but adults are $20 and if you are visiting primarily for the children activities offered, it is simply...

We really enjoyed our day at the museum. Many years ago I’m sure our children would have had a blast in the children’s museum section—it’s very inviting. My wife and I kinda blew through the main building but spent a while at the nearby Telfair home where the permanent exhibit resides.

The Owen’s house usually requires a like planning ahead as they limit the tours to just 12. We booked our tour about two hours ahead and that gave us plenty of time to view the other two buildings and then stroll over to the Owen’s house in time for the tour.

My only objection to the Owen’s house tour was the woke emphasis on the “enslavers” and the “enslaved”, especially when our guide made her pitch that such a lifestyle could not have existed without owning slaves. Truth is, the home flourished after the emancipation and the owners lived there well into the 20th century before giving the home to the museum. It was in 2018 when the house tour turned woke. Perhaps in time, the tour emphasis can be more balanced as it had been before 2018. Either way, running such a home in the early 1800s was a...