2022–2023 Museum to the Classroom Topics
Parts of Art
Kindergarten to Grade 3
LOOK & LEARN. Discover the visual language of art: line, color, value, shape, form, space, and texture. Engage in simple activities designed to explore how artists use these basic elements of art to convey information and ideas.
CREATE (optional). Explore all of the parts of art and bring lines to life! Taking inspiration from Frank Stella’s Nogaro, students will create paintings and transform them into 3D sculptures that burst off the page!
Many Moods of Me
Grades 2 to 6
LOOK & LEARN. Build emotional intelligence
through a mindful exploration of moods in art. Identify emotions
artists depict and evoke in their work. Using a mood meter, students
will connect to what they are currently feeling and see how art has the
ability to convey and even alter emotions.
CREATE (optional). Express emotions and creativity in a safe place! Students will look inward to visually express themselves. Creating their own accordion journals, they will use various media to draw, write, and collage the moods they experience or encounter all in one place.
Art of the American West
Grades 3 to 6
LOOK & LEARN. Study North American Indigenous peoples, as well as the explorers and
artists who connected with them starting in the early 1800s, to Native
American artists today. Make connections to the Lewis & Clark
Expedition and compare past and present artworks, and discover how
Indigenous artists continually adapt to change while celebrating
tradition.
CREATE (optional). Become an artist-explorer and scientist to record discoveries! Students will create instant book journals and travel through artworks, sketching and documenting the critters they find along the way, just like Karl Bodmer and Prince Maximillian.
What's pictured (top to bottom): Frank Stella (American b. 1936),
Nogaro, 1982, mixed media on aluminum, 115 x 120 x 24 in., Gift of the Phillip Schrager Collection of Contemporary Art from Terri, Harley and Beth Schrager, 2014.2; Mickalene Thomas (American, born 1971),
Din, une très belle négresse 1,
2012, rhinestones, acrylic, oil, and enamel on wood panel, 102 x 84 x 2
in., Museum purchase, gift of The Sherwood Foundation, 2019.6; Seth Eastman (American, 1808-1875),
Sioux Indians, 1850, canvas; oil, 32 7/8 x 44 7/8 in; 83.5 x 114 cm, Purchased from the Old Print Shop, 1946.27