On any given weekday at the Museum you will see lines of students filing through the corridors, groups of students completing activities in the Galleries, and clusters of students wandering the Gardens with clipboards examining plants and architectural features.
Arts integration is a vital part of any education, and these students are gaining knowledge about art, history, ecology, and other topics that coincide with their school curriculum, reinforcing the skills they are learning at school and stretching their minds through new applications.
“This has been my favorite field trip of the year. The children were exposed to art and culture in a way that many would never get the opportunity to with their families. My students and I thoroughly enjoyed this field trip!”
“I would like to commend our guide, Ms. Brown, on her ability to engage each and every one of my students, right on their level. She was absolutely amazing! It can be very difficult to make art at the museum relevant and appropriate to 4-year-olds, but she did it absolutely effortlessly.”
In the 2015/16 school year, the Museum hosted nearly 25,000 students, teachers, and chaperones for these educational experiences. There are 16 different tours available, including grade-level tours, science-based garden tours, and STEAM tours that combine topics in science, technology, engineering, art, and math. The Museum serves students of all abilities, and each student who comes through the campus visits the Galleries, Gardens, and Art Connections interactive space. Each tour also include a hands-on art lesson in the studios. Teacher packets on the website provide supplemental materials that can be used in classrooms before and after students and teachers come on their tour to help reinforce the skills learned at the Museum.
School tours reinforce the amazing work being done by art teachers and schools throughout the community. Arts integration creates students who are more well-rounded, with the flexibility and innovative thinking skills to grow into adults who will become our future doctors, teachers, engineers, scientists, and others who contribute to society as a whole.
