(2019) When I heard that there will be a Frida Kahlo exhibit in Brooklyn Museum, I knew I had to visit right away. Well, almost right away. As a matter of fact, we made it there at the very last weekend. It was worth it to see Frida Kahlo. The exhibit was totally amazing. I am guilty, however, of not exploring the museum that well. You see, the museum is located right next door to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. I got the passes from the library for the garden and off we went.
The museum
Back to the museum for a moment. We came fairly early in the morning, and parked in the lot between the museum and the botanical garden. At the end of the day, I think it was around $10.00, so not too bad. Once there, I saw the line wrapping all around the block. I am eternally grateful to my friend that got there earlier and was way up in the line.
By the time we got to the ticket sales, the earliest tour available was 2:30, so we had some time to kill. At first, we explored the Brooklyn Museum for a bit. Just the first floor, and a little bit of the second floor.
We also had a quick bite to eat from the museum’s cafeteria in the outside seating area.
After that, we still had a few hours, so off we went to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
Brooklyn Botanical Garden
The garden was delightful. Maybe, in part, because we were surprised to find such a lush green space in the middle of Brooklyn (which we really shouldn’t be, as Brooklyn is filled with greenery). Or because my family always tends to prefer the outdoors in any shape or form. We had a great time there. It was my youngest, my grandmother, and myself. We roamed the space for a while. Meandering through fields of flowers, past old trees, and charming bridges. My youngest had his camera in his pocket, and had fun with taking photographs.
As we were strolling, the clouds began to gather and darken, and before we knew it, it was pouring down like crazy. We had to run for cover. Lucky for us, the garden has a series of green houses, each with a different climate zone. They are all interconnected and you can go from one to the other without leaving the building. We got to explore all of them while waiting for the rain to pass.
Once the rain subsided a bit, we dashed back toward the exit, not wanting to miss our time for the Frida exhibit. Yet again we were thwarted briefly by a downpour. This time we got to hide under a pagoda, along with many other park goers in the delightful Japanese garden.
Now really worried that we will miss the exhibit, we had to go through the pouring rain. Which really wasn’t so bad after all. We made it on time.
Prior to going, I read a bit about the exhibit itself. Some of the things I read online made me wonder if it would be worth it. In my honest opinion, it was totally worth it. The museum staff were all very helpful and, knowledgeable, the exhibit was well designed, and thought through with the visitor in mind. I did not feel rushed one bit once inside. The exhibit was interesting enough to hold the attention of a group of 12 year old boys.
I won’t go on about it for two reasons. First, it has since been replaced by other exhibits, but I hope that based on this experience, they are just as fascinating and great. Second, they really didn’t allow any photos inside the exhibit, and I, being a good museum-goer, did not sneak any. Here is a photo of me with Frida, at the exit, where photos were, in fact, encouraged. This concludes our visit to Brooklyn Museum and Brooklyn Botanical Garden, see you all next time!
Brooklyn Museum has put the archive of the entire exhibit on their website. You can view it here.
You might also like to read about Our Visit To The Met.