I went to the Cleveland Museum of Art today, together with my Mom, my sister Anna, and my brother Alex. We were looking for a fun “field trip” that was in a climate-controlled environment, where my Mom would be able to use her electric scooter. So, the museum seemed like a natural choice. And honestly, our museum moments ended up being even more fun than expected.

The Cleveland Museum of Art is truly a world-class art museum. I mean, I may not be an expert in this field, but I’ve been to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Louvre in Paris, and the Vatican Collections in Rome — and it feels like Cleveland is right there, with them. Pablo Picasso… Vincent van Gogh… Georgia O’Keefe… Andy Warhol… Jackson Pollock… not to mention hundreds of master artisans from ancient times whose names have not survived with their works of art… the collection is pretty incredible.

In addition, there’s something about a museum that activates creativity in my own heart. Consequently, I’ve genuinely come to feel like an art museum is one of the best places for creative photography.

We “shot up the place” throughout our hours at the museum. And it felt like a fun bonding experience.

My family-of-origin didn’t really go to a lot of museums growing up (mostly because we were in rural areas, far from the city’s big museums). Still, I’ve got a lot of special memories from “Museum Moments” with my kids in Amsterdam — where there were more museums accessible than nature preserves — and fortunately, it seems like the experience translated to the time with my Mom and siblings better than I could have hoped.

So, if you’re feeling bored and uncreative through these early days of February, I’d encourage you to go out and create some museum moments of your own. Even though it might seem like a fancy-schmancy outing, admission to the museum is free. Just remember to bring some quarters for the street-side parking meters (avoiding the $14 parking garage fee). Then, you should be all set for a good time!