I spy with my little eye…children at the museum!
On any given day, there are always programs being offered for our younger museum visitors. During the week, you can often spot them in lively school groups engaging in interactive docent tours. And don’t be surprised if their enthusiasm can be heard from the hallways as they participate in exciting art activities in the Center for Creative Connections. Our programs also go beyond the museum and into the community, bringing art to the classroom with Go van Gogh. These are just a few examples of the many ways the folks here at the DMA are facilitating fun learning experiences that encourage participation and self-expression. But don’t take it from me! Our young participants really say it best. Below are some of their candid comments from the 2011 – 2012 school year.
Docent Tours
- “These paintings look weird to me,” a puzzled 4th-grade girl commented while walking through the Impressionist gallery.
- “Wouldn’t you like to drink out of these amazing cups?” a docent asked about a group of gold Peruvian mugs. “Uh, if I cleaned them first,” replied a 4th-grade boy.
- A 4th-grade boy noticed a Peruvian Mask with copper covered eye holes and mused, “I wonder how many times the guy wearing that ran into the wall?”
- “Even if you are a leader, you still need help,” reasoned a 4th-grade boy when asked to interpret the proverb expressed by an African sculpture.
- After an hour long tour, these 4th-graders still wanted more, as expressed by this excited girl who asked, “What else are we going to see? Are we going to see the really really really big artworks now?!” Referring to the Mark Bradford work they had passed by on the way in.
Center for Creative Connections
- “They always make us paint with crazy things!” said a young girl in reaction to painting with kitchen tools in an Arturo’s Art & Me class.
- “I thought it was going to be a person, but it turned out to be a ballerina,” explained an eight-year-old girl about her finished artwork.
- A nine-year-old girl titled her art piece Man Gives Flowers and reflected that, while she made it, she thought of “romantic love.”
Go van Gogh Classroom Programs
- “Hi, I am from the Dallas Museum of Art!” announced the volunteer. “Really?! Yessss. I LOVE art!!” exclaimed an enthusiastic 2nd-grade girl.
- “Make the minutes last! Make the next two minutes an hour!” declared a 5th-grade boy after being told that only five minutes remained.
- “Wow,” a 4th-grade boy said of the hat he was making, “mine is turning out reeeeally neat.”
- “I have no idea what I am doing. I just went wild on it,” laughed a 4th-grade boy about his art project.
If you have any memorable museum moments with kids, please share them in the comments section!
McDermott Education Intern for Teaching Programs and Partnerships