OPENING THE EARS AND EYES OF CHILDREN TO CULTURE.

Byline: Barbara De Witt Staff Writer

Getting kids to like culture isn't any easier than getting them to eat vegetables. They know it's good for them, but it's not always palatable.

``Building audiences for live arts events that are outside the realm of pop culture is always a challenge,'' says Mark Slavkin, vice president of the Music Center Education Division. He explains that the two biggest barriers are fear of the unknown, which translates to ``I have never been before - don't think I would like it,'' and a fear of being thought ignorant or uncool.

So instead of being force-fed, Los Angeles children are being enticed to attend concerts and visit museums by a number of playful promotions.

One of the most progressive ideas is NexGen Arts, a free youth membership card campaign that kicks off Sunday at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art with a huge festival that will include live performances, gallery tours, an art treasure hunt, creative workshops, games, prizes and free LACMA NexGen Arts T-shirts to the first 250 arrivals younger than 18.

``By making gallery admission free to young people and any accompanying adult and also offering an array of programming focused especially on the needs and interests of young people, we hope to greatly expand awareness of LACMA throughout the community as a great place to experience the joys of art and art-making,'' says LACMA president and director Andrea Rich. She's referring to year-round events such as youth-focused art, film and music events at the largest museum on the city's Museum Row, with discounts on art courses, art camp programs and merchandise in the museum store.

NexGen Arts represents a substantial savings. Since daily admission is $7 per adult and $1 per child, a family of two adults and two children will save $16 on each visit, because the children will each have a free membership card that entitles them to bring an adult guest (parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle) for free, explains LACMA spokeswoman Kirsten Schmidt, adding that LACMA surveyed 18 large museums across the country and found no comparable programs.

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is also taking steps to ensure today's children are tomorrow's museum members by inviting them to help design the new museum.

About 100 local schoolchildren have sent drawings, two-dimensional designs and three-dimension models to be shared with museum architect Steven Holl for the new building that is expected to open in 2009. All participants will receive certificates and ribbons, but several will be chosen for a special museum exhibit June 19 through Sept. 2, says museum spokeswoman Pat Florez.

The museum also continues to offer sleepovers on a quarterly basis. The next sleepover - on May 2 - will include a visit to ``Chocolate: The Exhibition,'' where children can make ancient Aztec drinks.

To introduce musicians as real people, the Los Angeles Philharmonic has created trading cards modeled after baseball cards to be given to children at each concert, says spokeswoman Scalla Sheen.

But it's about more than just music. On the flip side of clarinet player David Howard's picture, he comments that he's terrible at the piano, once competed on the ``Gong Show'' and probably would have been a Russian-speaking CIA agent or frozen-yogurt server if he hadn't fallen in love with the clarinet at the age of 13.

The cards will be given out in groups of five until the entire orchestra is completed, which will be a multiyear project, says Sheen.

Finally, the Music Center offers a number of kid-friendly programs, including the Pillow Theatre for preschoolers, in which they sit on pillows in the Grand Hall of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and experience the arts in a special cultural center, as well as family festivals tied to specific performances.

Culture in kid-friendly doses. It's a concept that could catch on with adults - you know, like a popcorn night at the opera.

CAPTION(S):

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(1) The Natural History Museum has received nearly 100 drawings - including this one from Camden David Ball, 7, of Thousand Oaks - proposing designs for its new building, scheduled to open in 2009.

(2 -- 3) LACMA is reaching out to children by offering membership in its NextGen Arts program, toys, and trading cards featuring musicians from the L.A. Philharmonic, above.