The Mustang Museum is an idea that I came up with a few years ago when our
county had to cut back on student field trips. As the art teacher, I wanted all
my students to have the opportunity to visit Atlanta's High Museum of Art, but
that wasn't possible with all the budget cuts and the fact that our school is no
where near The High. So, I mulled over the idea of creating my own museum for
several years. One day, my oldest daughter came home from middle school and
told me about these really large works of art that her school had hanging in the
hallway. And as luck would have it, I had just gotten a flyer in the mail for a traveling art show and it sounded just like what she had seen. I investigated it further and took my idea to the principal and with the support of our PTA the Mustang Museum was created.
HERE"S HOW IT WORKS...
My idea was to create an interactive art experience for all the students in our school. It is A LOT of work that has paid off in so many ways. I introduced Visual Thinking rountines to our faculty, which is a teacher led disscussion about how to "read" and interpret works of art. One of the routines our school uses is "I see...I think...I wonder". Teachers take their
students to the museum on two separate occasions. The first visit is a tour of the museum and becoming familiar with the artist. Students are given plenty of time to look at and discuss the works so that they can begin to form opinions of their own. The second visit allows the students time to complete an activity. On ocassion, there is a mimeo presentation about the artist. And we even have URL barcodes next to the titles of each work so that a teacher with a smart phone can find out more about a particular painting and share it with the class.
county had to cut back on student field trips. As the art teacher, I wanted all
my students to have the opportunity to visit Atlanta's High Museum of Art, but
that wasn't possible with all the budget cuts and the fact that our school is no
where near The High. So, I mulled over the idea of creating my own museum for
several years. One day, my oldest daughter came home from middle school and
told me about these really large works of art that her school had hanging in the
hallway. And as luck would have it, I had just gotten a flyer in the mail for a traveling art show and it sounded just like what she had seen. I investigated it further and took my idea to the principal and with the support of our PTA the Mustang Museum was created.
HERE"S HOW IT WORKS...
My idea was to create an interactive art experience for all the students in our school. It is A LOT of work that has paid off in so many ways. I introduced Visual Thinking rountines to our faculty, which is a teacher led disscussion about how to "read" and interpret works of art. One of the routines our school uses is "I see...I think...I wonder". Teachers take their
students to the museum on two separate occasions. The first visit is a tour of the museum and becoming familiar with the artist. Students are given plenty of time to look at and discuss the works so that they can begin to form opinions of their own. The second visit allows the students time to complete an activity. On ocassion, there is a mimeo presentation about the artist. And we even have URL barcodes next to the titles of each work so that a teacher with a smart phone can find out more about a particular painting and share it with the class.