Often considered places of solemn contemplation, quiet inspiration and personal reflection, art museums seem among the most reluctant to embrace early childhood audiences. Melina Mallos discusses action research at the Queensland Art Gallery [vertical bar] Gallery of Modern Art, Australia, as a means of gaining new insight into children's learning and ways to embrace this audience. The article focuses on three artist projects to describe the collaboration between artists and museums necessary to create memorable encounters with contemporary art for young audiences. (Contains 26 notes.)