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MetKids Microscope

The science behind the art (and the art behind the science!) at The Met.

Season Two

What’s the science behind making paint, mixing colors, and hearing music? Learn with Met scientists as your guide, then experiment on your own.

Watch All Episodes
A chalk-line illustration of a cast of characters from MetKids Microscope Season 2, featuring an art detective pointing her magnifying glass at a microscope, fingerprint ghosts, an assortment of bugs, and a girl resting on a magnifying glass zooming in on a bug-eaten leaf

New Episodes

A cracked egg floats over a table top surface featuring a bowl and whole eggs as well as a bucket of paint brushes and bottles of blue, yellow, and red pigments.

So That’s How You Make Paint?

What does a cake have in common with an Italian Renaissance painting? The answer may surprise you! Watch to learn about the special properties of egg yolk that make it just as perfect for painting as it is for baking.
A painting of a Madonna and egg and an illustrated egg artist holding a paint brush flank either side of an open sketch book with colorful test paint swatches labeled bright, grainy, and dull.

How to Make Tempera Paint at Home

Did you know that you can make paint in your very own home? In this experiment, make a glorious painting using only ingredients from your kitchen cabinet and refrigerator.
Two circus monkeys appear on stage balancing atop balls, each adorned with a mauve-colored star.

How Can Art Trick Our Minds?

Instead of mixing paint colors on a palette, what happens if we let our eyes do the mixing? Learn about Pointillism and how the artist Georges Seurat used the science of optics to create a whole new way of painting!
A cartoon sphinx seated on a column in ancient Greece. Inset to the right shows a photograph of the terracotta head of a woman with cartoon crystals growing from her ear.

Season One

Discover the science behind how light changes art, where color comes from, and more—and experiment on your own!

Watch All Episodes

Ancient Ear Hair: How Do Crystals Form?

Art at The Met is made of many materials, including natural materials like minerals. Environmental conditions can affect these minerals, and even make an ancient statue grow ear hair! Learn about the science of crystals and salts, and how we use our knowledge to protect the art.

Art Under X-Ray: What’s Inside the Art?

Art is full of mysteries that can’t be revealed by a quick glance. How do we see what’s hiding inside objects and learn how they were made and repaired? We use an x-ray machine, just like you’d find at the doctor’s office!

Painting With Bugs: Where Does Color Come From?

Sometimes the colors in paints and dyes come from the natural world, like plants, minerals, and… bugs? Meet the cochineal—the tiny, cactus-loving insect that brings a bright, vibrant red color to art, clothing, and even food—and learn all about the science of pigments.

Related

A drawing of a girl in The Met's Greek and Roman art gallery admiring a Roman statue of a young man in a toga standing beside a dog.

A MetKids Comic from Guest Contributor Sharee Miller

An unfolded accordion book featuring characters inspired by objects from the #MetKids Map

Make a Mix-and-Match Accordion Book with Guest Contributor Il Sung Na

A photograph of the two-story patio of the Velez Blanco castle, which was originally in Spain but was relocated to The Met. The room, which is scattered with sculptures of people and natural creatures on plinths, is illustrated with simple quirky black cartoon characters scattered throughout the image looking at the art.

Imaginary Patron Hours with Guest Contributor Mo Willems

Topics

Art-Making

Behind the Scenes

Fashion

For Families

From the Archives

Identity

In Circulation

Music

Notes from Museum Leadership

On View

Provenance

Religion and Spirituality

Technology

Materials

Nature

Pride

Social Change