A 5th grade class from Milwaukee Public Schools' Mary McLeod Bethune Academy was the first to check out the new Kohl's Education Center at the Milwaukee Art Museum, 700 N. Art Museum Dr.,  today.

The kids were at the museum from 10 a.m. until noon creating art projects and interacting in the the news spaces that are designed to spark creativity and instill an appreciation of art into kids.

In the center, children and families enter the world of art via interactive games and exhibits, and can also create their own art.

Bethune student Chris Letizke worked at a video station creating animations.

"It’s awesome," Letizke said. "I love it. When you touch it, there it is."

The center is the latest step in the Kohl's Art Generation program, now in its fourth year, and funded with a $3.7 million grant from Kohl's Department Stores and Kohl's Cares to the Milwaukee Art Museum. It opens to the public on Saturday, Feb. 25.

The program can help schools provide art education at a time their budgets for the arts are threatened.

The center comprises three spaces:

• The Kohl's Art Generation Studio hands-on art studio, open to public on Sundays from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Children and families can select from a variety of activities and projects, with options changing each month.
• The Kohl's Art Generation Gallery, open during regular museum hours, is a kid-focused gallery that introduces the fundamentals of art. The first show, "Animation: Art Goes to the Movies," traces how today's animators draw inspiration from works of art.
• The Kohl's Art Generation Lab, also open during regular museum hours, is allows families to explore what happens behind the scenes at a museum! They can X-ray a painting, change frames on artworks, ask questions of curators and more.