The hall is quiet, brightly lit, and lined with paintings, some of them places and some of them people, but most of them just shapes and colors. Pia and Little Big Heart stop to look at each one, taking the time to study the piece and think about what they like most about it.
“This looks kind of like a tree,” Pia says, rubbing her chin in deep consideration.
“Or maybe a woman in a long, brown dress,” Little Big Heart adds.
“Or maybe both, that’s what makes modern art so cool—it can be whatever you want it to be.”
They continue on through the modernism exhibit and toward the classical wing, entering an enormous room scattered with marble sculptures that measure anywhere from life-sized to towering. A few other kids from their class are walking around, listening to an audio tour in a group, or just enjoying the museum on their own.
“It’s great that the museum lets our school come here for free,” Little Big Heart says. “Otherwise, we might miss out on all of this amazing art.”
“Yeah, I wish there was something we could do for them to show them how much we appreciate it.”
They walk over to the middle of the room and circle a statue of a Roman warrior with a shield in one hand and a long, outstretched spear in the other. A group of other kids from their school are also admiring it, one of them reaching out to grip the marble spear in his own hand.
“Please don’t touch the exhibits,” a security guard says, leaping into action from the corner he had been standing in. “They are very, very valuable.”
The young student, looking embarrassed, runs off, his friends trailing close behind him. The security guard notices Little Big Heart and Pia watching the scene with interest and walks over to greet them.
“I think I might have accidentally scared them,” he says, taking off his hat and rubbing his bald head. “People sometimes think I’m a statue myself, standing over there in the corner all day. But it’s really important that I make sure no one touches the art. You both know not to do that, right?”
“Yes, sir,” they both say.
“We used to have signs everywhere,” he says, “but the old ones came down a few months back when we painted and the museum hasn’t gotten any new ones yet. Anyway, you kids have fun, I’ll be in my corner if you need anything.”
The guard returns to his post, his watchful eyes scanning the room for anyone else with wandering hands.
“That’s it!” Pia says, pulling Little Big Heart into a hallway.
“That’s how we can thank the museum.”
“What do you mean?”
“We can make ‘do not touch’ signs,” she says. “It’ll help the security guard keep the art safe, and also help the museum save money—that way they can keep letting kids visit for free.”
“That’s a great idea,” Little Big Heart replies, “but how do we do it? Where do we start?”
The two of them think long and hard, trying to come up with a way that they can make enough signs for the whole museum without spending any money. Across the hallway, they notice a group of students coming out of a room, each of them with a painted dinosaur mask either sitting on their heads or hanging from their hands. Pia waits for them to leave and creeps up to the door, peeking through the window to find a colorful room with long, covered tables and stacks of paper and paints. At the far end, a small woman with gray hair and thick glasses hangs fresh paintings to dry on a clothesline.
“The Art Interaction Room!” Pia says. “I forgot all about it. It’s exactly what we need.”
“With your Talent for painting,” Little Big Heart says to her, “and all of those supplies, the signs will be done in no time. I just wish I could help, but I’ve never been very good at art.”
“But you are very good at being a leader and talking to people, Little Big Heart! Which is exactly the kind of Talent we are going to need to do a project this big. I can’t make all of the signs myself, and we don’t even know if they’ll let us use the room and supplies.”
“Yeah!” Little Big Heart says excitedly. “I can find more kids to help us, and then I can go talk to the art room teacher and explain to her how important our project is. She’ll have to let us use the room then!”
The two of them hurry off in separate directions, with plans in mind and good intentions in their heart. Within an hour, Little Big Heart has convinced the art room teacher to let them use her supplies, and finds ten more kids who want to volunteer to help out the museum—the first one being the boy who had earlier touched the statue. He said he felt bad once he realized what he had done, and wanted to do whatever he could to help make sure no one else would make the same mistake he did. In the end, even the security guard, fresh off his shift, joins in to help make the signs that the museum needed.
