Strolling through the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Egyptian wing, it's easy to see why this place is a magnet for kids. There are fantastical figures of humans with animal heads; paintings of people doing all kinds of fun things, like hunting, fishing, and playing games; and everything you wanted to know about mummies.

On a recent visit, a boy from West Virginia said he really liked Egyptian art, "especially the paintings and scale models about farming. You can tell what people did every day, and how they did it." A girl from nearby P.S. 6, who was sketching a blue hippo, said, "There's a lot about nature and animals. There's even a mummy of a cat with a gold earring!" A high school student, intently drawing a falcon, said, "It's cosmic. They put these statues, jewelry, and paintings into their tombs to make sure their second life would be just as good as the first."

This weekend, the museum's Family Program offers Look Again! featuring everything Egyptian. Designed for children ages 5 through 12 and their adult friends, gallery guides from the education department unlock the story of art and daily life in ancient Egypt.

One of the highlights of the collection is a group of large-scale models of houses, barns, and ships populated by carved wooden figures of people and their animals. Around the corner, wall paintings copied from ancient tombs show how people lived and worked 3,500 years ago. In a scene depicting a family outing on the Nile, the father hunts, the mother picks flowers, two boys collect the fallen birds and a girl, wearing beautiful clothes and jewelry, just hangs out. In another scene about planting crops, a young man is accompanied by a little dog wearing a golden collar.

Whether you have an hour or day, there's lots to discover about ancient Egypt this weekend.

Saturday, 11am to 12:30 pm: What Shall I Wear? uncovers the fashions of the times: the clothes, wigs, golden sandals, spectacular jewelry and other ornaments for men, women, children, and their pets.

Saturday, 1 to 4 pm: How Did They Do That? Drop in to one of the half-hour segments about the mystery of mummification.

Saturday, 6 - 7 pm: The Charles H. Tally Art Evening offers conversation and sketching in the galleries.

Sunday 11am to 12:30 pm: What Shall I Do Today? explores the games and pastimes depicted in the paintings and objects in the Egyptian Wing.
These programs are free with museum admission. For more information about the Weekend Family Program and other art programs for kids and students, please visit the website.