Dallas Museum of Art Visit

We regularly go to the Meyerson for my daughter's performances and find all the parking has been raised for this event. The Arts District Parking is $10 if that is a help. If you are bringing a lot of family, it might be more prudent to join the museum - lower rates for Tut and free parking plus free for most things all year. These events are usually very crowded and might be a bit difficult for a 4 year old to really enjoy (I took mine at that age and had to have hold of them constantly). The museum also offers lower rates early in the morning - 8-9 am if memory serves..........good luck and enjoy!

You could park at the Mockingbird Station free and take the light rail downtown to the museum. I think the best stop is the one before the Akard exit but you would have to look at the map. You would have to walk a couple of blocks but if it is during the week, you should be safe with all of the business people. I think your 4 year old would love the chance to ride the train too. There is parking on the street too and in various parking lots- one across the street from the DMA.

I highly recommend taking the Dart Rail. We did this in October on Saturday morning. We saw the exhibit at 9ish in the morning that there was no line and very small crowds. We had perfect weather and the walk isn't very long from the station.

It depends on when you're going. We went at 2pm on a weekday, and there was plenty of parking around the museum. If you're going that route, then just find a spot nearby and pay the parking meter (which I can only imagine will be far cheaper than the museum garage). Driving the perimeter of the museum isn't a big deal since it's one-way streets that allow you to circle the museum without having to detour.
However, if you're going on a weekend, I'd either go the route of taking the DART Rail or joining the museum (and plan on going again within your membership period to make it worth your while).

One thing to add, I took my 5-yr-old, and we got the little listening devices that they offer for $2 each. They really helped her get into the exhibit more. There are numbers on some of the exhibits, and you punch those numbers into the listening device to hear more about the display. My daughter had a great time searching the cases for numbers and listening to the voice. I'd definitely recommend it for your 4-yr-old.

I have not been to see the exhibit yet (but hope to go soon!), so I don't have advice about best times, etc. But my husband works downtown so I take the kids to see him for lunch every couple of months. We always ride the train and my kids (2 and 8) love it. I think there is a stop (maybe Pearl Station?) that is only a couple of blocks from the museum so it is an easy walk, even for a 4 year old. HTH.