Skipping through sculptures

Who:Living/Arts editor Fiona Luis and her son, Dylan, 4
What: Walking, with a healthy dose of art
Where: DeCordova Sculpture Park, 51 Sandy Point Road, Lincoln (www.decordova.org)

The idea of taking a 4-year-old to a museum can be daunting. How long can he last? Might he run into the Rothko, crash into the Cassatt? And what to do if you're in the mood for art while he's agitating to go for a walk?

The perfect solution is the sculpture park at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, where 35 acres of woodlands and lawns provide hours of ambulatory nirvana for a preschooler interested in spotting bugs, spelling out signs, and skipping among the large-scale artwork. And it obliges parents who like to slip into teaching mode: Shape, form, color, texture, setting, thoughts, and feelings are writ large on these grounds. Rick Brown's "Butterfly" is geometry come alive. Ronald Gonzalez's "Cones" is form and function made delightful. Fletcher Benton's "Donut with 3 Balls" is food for thought.

But for Dylan, the highlight of the ramble is a section of the park called Alice's Garden. Thirteen of the park's 75 sculptures are nestled among the landscaping on the gentle slopes here, with the likes of "Feral Goose" (Kitty Wales) and a bronze hat titled "A Mile From Any Neighbor From Walden" (Christopher Frost) eliciting giggles. Perched on a rocky outcrop is John Wilson's calming "Eternal Presence," a bronze head that gazes out onto the verdant grounds, commanding a curious 4-year-old to do the same.

For him, Alice's Garden was quite the wonderland.

[Fiona Luis]