watch: penguins get private tour of nelson-atkins museum of art in kansas city

despite the many performances and cultural institutions you can virtually visit, watch and enjoy from home during the COVID-19 lockdown, boredom has affected us all as the weeks roll on. and this also seems to be the case for the penguins at the kansas city zoo in missouri, who recently took a field trip to the empty galleries of the nelson-atkins museum. on their private tour, our winged friends studied key movements in the field of art, from baroque to french impressionism.

its not animals in art; its animal enjoying it. watch the video to join the full field trip, here.

all images courtesy of  nelson-atkins museum by gabe hopkins

the trio of humboldt penguins from kansas city zoo – bubbles (age five), maggie (seven) and berkley (eight) – are native to the coastal areas of peru and chile and can live into their 30s. the trio did seem to have a favorite, though, despite this being their first museum visit let alone first experience of art.

‘they seemed to react much better to caravaggio than monet,‘ commented julián zugazagoitia, executive director and CEO of the nelson-atkins museum, in the video of the tour. ‘the penguins absolutely loved it,‘ added randy wisthoff, executive director of the kansas city zoo, noting that the animals ‘miss having visitors come out and see them.‘

visit info:

location: nelson-atkins museum

zoo: kansas city zoo

penguins: three humboldt penguins – bubbles (age five), maggie (seven) and berkley (eight)