Posts Tagged 'travel'

Flat Stanley’s Latest Adventure

Flat Stanley is no stranger to the Dallas Museum of Art. In fact, he has visited a few times over the years, and each time he gets to experience a new adventure. We were happy to welcome him back this year to help him explore the DMA and beyond!

This year, Flat Stanley came on a mission! He wanted to see the collection, but specifically he was hoping to see some artwork with dolphins. Unfortunately there weren’t dolphins to be found in the works of art currently on view, but he took a tour around the Museum and found some wonderful water related works of art.

Flat Stanley’s next adventure was a trip with Go van Gogh, a program that brings the DMA to Kindergarten through 6th grade students in schools throughout DFW free of charge.

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Next on Stanley’s agenda was a quick stop at our neighbor’s the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. Mostly hoping to spot a dinosaur, Flat Stanley was thrilled to also find a dolphin!

After spending some time in and around Dallas, Flat Stanley caught the travel bug and decided to hop some flights with DMA educators to explore a few cities. First on his itinerary was a quick trip to Washington D.C., where Flat Stanley spent some time at the National Mall. He got to see both the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial!

Next, Flat Stanley caught a flight to the Big Apple! Of course he had to take the subway system to navigate this new city, so he snapped a photo at the 42nd Street station. He enjoyed visiting some museums, but Flat Stanley’s favorite stop was experiencing the sights and sounds of Times Square.

After the rush of New York, Flat Stanley couldn’t just come back to Texas. So instead he made his way across the pond to London! This required a bit of a costume change–luckily, he was able to find a foot guard uniform just his size for the journey. All suited up, he got to visit Buckingham Palace, where the flag was raised indicating that the Queen was on the premises. While in the area, he also stopped by the Queen Victoria Memorial and the Wellington Arch.

After all that traveling, Flat Stanley was happy to get some rest and return to Dallas and the DMA. He took one last tour around to see the new México: 1900-1950 exhibition before heading home.

Jessica Fuentes
Manager of Gallery Interpretation and the Center for Creative Connections

Friday Photos: Clarion Alley

 

Earlier this week, I enjoyed a vacation with my family to San Francisco. After the requisite stops at the Golden Gate and the Painted Ladies, we headed for some shopping in the Mission District where we stumbled upon Clarion Alley. This tiny alleyway has been filled with an ever-changing array of street art since the early 90s. Check out some of the images we snapped on this colorful street.

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Sarah Coffey
Education Coordinator

(Unexpected) Art from Across the Pond

In late August, I was lucky enough to spend time exploring the art and culture of London and Paris. As a museum educator, my main goal (of course) was to fit in as many museum and cultural site visits as possible–and I tried my best! While I was mesmerized by the popular artistic highlights of these cities–who doesn’t treasure seeing a Da Vinci first-hand??–for this post I wanted to share some images that were particularly special to me, as they showcase some overlooked sites and scenes from these fascinating cities.

*For more information on Thomas Thwaites’ project (which is fascinating!) click here.  

Perhaps my favorite art educational gem from the entire trip was stumbling upon the Musee D’Orsay‘s crowdfunding restoration project of Gustave Courbet’s The Painter’s Studio. The artwork is being restored on-site in the Museum’s exhibition space and visitors can view the progress in-person over many months, and through various interactive technologies. The most exciting technological component, in my opinion, was a French Sign Language (LSF) interpreted description of the conservation work–fascinating and accessible!FSL

As with most trips overseas, mine was much too short and there were many, many things still left unseen. It was a magical trip and an unforgettable experience, which caused me to stop and think about the unexpected treasures that can be found on visits to popular and familiar places–and I hope you will too!

Danielle Schulz
Teaching Specialist

Arturo’s Adventures in Peru

Where in the world can you see a llama wandering around ancient ruins, take a boat across the largest lake in South America, and eat cuy (guinea pig) for dinner? Peru!

Waiting at DFW airport, ready to start the adventure!

Waiting at DFW airport, ready to start the adventure!

I recently took a trip to Peru to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. It was my first visit to South America, and since the Museum’s family mascot Arturo is from Peru, I thought it might be nice to take him along with me so that he could visit his homeland. He wasn’t very good at giving me directions, but we still had a good time.

View of Lake Titicaca with the mountains of Bolivia in the background

View of Lake Titicaca with the mountains of Bolivia in the background

Our first stop was Lake Titicaca—the largest lake in South America and the highest navigable lake in the world. Arturo didn’t have any troubles at all, but when I first arrived, Peru literally took my breath away. Lake Titicaca is 12,507 feet above sea level, while Dallas is only 430 feet above sea level—that’s a big difference! Hiking around the island of Taquile, we could see all the way to the mountains of Bolivia.

Cusco

Cusco

Next stop: Cusco and the Sacred Valley. The Inca people built Cusco as the capital of their empire and created the city in the shape of a puma. Today Cusco is a mix of Inca ruins wedged between Spanish Colonial churches, cobblestoned streets, trendy restaurants, and llamas, llamas everywhere! My favorite part of Cusco was the food. We went to the market and discovered a fruit call lucuma. It tastes like butterscotch and caramel!

There are many archeological sites around Cusco, and one of Arturo’s favorites was Moray. There we discovered these huge circles dug into the ground. We aren’t sure what these were made for, but scholars guess that they might have been used for experimenting with growing different crops. Can you find Arturo?

On Day 3 of the Inca Trail

On Day 3 of the Inca Trail

Finally, it was time to hike the Inca Trail—which was definitely the highlight of the trip. We hiked a total of 38 kilometers (about 23 miles) over the course of four days to reach the ancient city of Machu Picchu. On day two, we went over the highest point of the trek—a mountain pass called Dead Woman’s pass at an elevation of 13,829 feet. Arturo got a free ride in my backpack, so it was no trouble for him, but I was definitely sore after going up and down more than 5,000 Inca steps. On day three, we had incredible views of the mountains and started hiking through the cloud forest.

First view of Machu Picchu

First view of Machu Picchu

We finally reached Machu Picchu on the last day just as the sun came over the mountains, and it was breathtaking. These ruins were discovered by the outside world in 1911 when Hiram Bingham, a professor from Yale University, was guided to the site by local farmers. Most scholars believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Incan emperor, but our trail guide thinks that perhaps it served as a university of sorts.

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Regardless of its ancient use, we were very excited to get there and were in awe of what the Inca people built. I think everyone should jump at the chance to visit Peru, but if a visit there is not in your near future, come to the DMA and take a look at our collection of Ancient American art–You’ll just have to imagine the mountains and llamas!

Sican culture, Ceremonial mask, A.D. 900-1100, Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc.

Sican culture, Ceremonial mask, A.D. 900-1100, Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc.

Leah Hanson
Manager of Early Learning Programs

Flat Stanley: On the Road

While Flat Stanley enjoyed his time exploring the DMA, he really had fun hitting the road with me.  I took Flat Stanley to a wedding in Ontario, Canada and to a conference in New York City.  He had fun seeing the sights and meeting my family and friends!

Crossing the Blue Water Bridge from Michigan into Canada

Crossing the Blue Water Bridge from Michigan into Canada

After crossing the bridge, Stanley waits with his passport to go through Customs

After crossing the bridge, Stanley waits with his passport to go through Customs

With a replica of the Statue of Liberty in New York

With a replica of the Statue of Liberty in New York

Flat Stanley in Times Square

Flat Stanley in Times Square

With the Empire State Building lit up in the distance

With the Empire State Building lit up in the distance

Shannon Karol
Manager of Docent Programs and Gallery Teaching


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