Letter to the Editor: Getty Villa

Christina Jamieson of Los Angeles writes:

I saw that you had listed the Getty Villa as a place to take children in your link to Free Museum Days.

 We visited the Getty Villa in Feb. 2008 and found it was decidedly NOT child-friendly. My 3-year-old son and I were constantly harassed and ushered out of every room by over-zealous volunteers in the Getty Villa and herded over to the small, one-room Family Forum. The security guards were not responsible for this; it was the docents and volunteers who made our visit so unpleasant.  Our son is energetic but not destructive.  After a couple of hours of harassment we were desperate to leave that unhappy place.

Even when we were trying to leave and my son and I were waiting outside the museum in the vicinity of the outdoor theater for my husband and older daughter to join us, a volunteer rapidly strode up to my son within minutes and told him that sliding and lying down on the slate floor was not allowed. He was just sliding on his knees to lie down for a brief moment near the steps.  In the mean time many stylish visitors clattered past on the precious slate flooring in hard-soled boots and high-heeled shoes. Children are obviously not to be seen or heard or even to be present at the Getty Villa.

There should be a clear warning on the Getty Villa web site discouraging young children from visiting the Getty Villa. They should, in fact, have an outright ban on children under 15 since they already try to practice this policy this on innocent children that stray into this sham of a museum. In retrospect, I strongly object to the mixed message of having a "Family Forum" room at the Getty Villa. The activities in the room were interesting but children and their parents became virtual prisoners there since we were actively removed from all other areas.

We have enjoyed visiting many other museums in Los Angeles and around the world including the LACMA and Getty Center since both the children were babies and have never been treated this way.  We will not go back to the Getty Villa which we found to be an overly protected, "Emperor's new clothes" of a museum and will tell our friends with children not to bother either.

Comments? Feel free to share your experiences!