educating the museum’s youngestnaeaworkspace.org/session_handouts_12/educating the museum’s...
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Educating the Museum’s Youngest Visitors – A Comparative Look
Sarah Wright, Gilcrease Museum
Lisa Incatasciato, Peabody Essex Museum
Susan Kuliak, The Art Institute of Chicago
Stacey Shelnut-Hendrick, Crocker Art Museum
2012 NAEA National Convention, New York City, New York
Salem, Massachusetts – population, approx: 41,000 Chicago, Illinois – population, approx: 2.7 million Tulsa, Oklahoma – population, approx: 390,000 Sacramento, California – population, approx: 466,000 2010 United States Census
Peabody Essex Museum
Peabody Essex Museum
Program Development
Goals
Getting it off the ground
Logistics
Current Evaluation and Research
• Evaluating participant expectations and goals
• Future programs for this audience
• What happens when this group graduates from PEM Pals
The Art Institute of Chicago
• Situated in the heart of downtown Chicago, across from Millennium Park
• Most recent museum expansion:
The Modern Wing, 2009
• The Ryan Education Center, also opened in 2009, enlarged space for education by 300%
• Programs in place for families with preschoolers for more than 25 years
Criteria for Program Development
No “one-size-fits all” programs! Programs must serve a broader audience: • First time visitors—both tourists and
Chicago-area residents visiting downtown and Millennium Park
• Museum members and other “veteran” museum visitors
Programs must: • complement other program offerings • provide a feeder into programs for older
children • be tiered to allow for increasing levels of
engagement • serve the needs of 21st century museum
visitors
Drop-in programs: The Artist’s Studio All ages
The Little Studio Under age 5
Registered programs: Stroller Tours—
6 children + caregivers
Mini Masters Workshop— 10 children + caregivers
Strategies for Continuing Program Development and Evaluation
• Utilize pop-up programs as formative evaluation
• Create short surveys on a regular basis to benchmark data and to monitor the habits and needs of the audience
• Document programs regularly with photographs and short narrative reports
• Meet with staff regularly to discuss their ideas and anecdotal audience feedback
Mini Masters Kids Dig Books Museum Babies I & II
Museum’s Youngest
Visitors – Ages 0-5
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Research and Development
Universal Pre-K in Oklahoma (Early Childhood Four-Year-Old Program)
Universal Pre-K in Tulsa
Universal Pre-K -
“available to any child in a given state, regardless of family income, children’s abilities, or other factors.”
Skills Studied–
Results -
Kids Dig Books Pre – K program for ages 3-6 year olds Partnering with Tulsa City-County Library Children’s Department
Mini Masters Pre – K program for ages 3-6 year olds
1st Thursday of the month Theme for each semester Librarians choose books (we narrow them down) First ½ hour – story time Second ½ hour – art project based on the stories Free book for each child
Twice a week Theme for each semester First ½ hour - children go into galleries to study a work of art Second ½ hour – art project based on the art work they studied Free art material for each child
Both programs are free to the public
Museum Babies I Ages 0-1 year old
Twice a month Designed for parents and children First ½ hour – casual tour for parents Second ½ hour – activity for infants (occupational therapist instructor, and early childhood students)
Museum Babies II Ages 1 and 2 year olds
Twice a month Designed for parents and children First ½ hour – casual tour for parents Second ½ hour – activity for toddlers (occupational therapist instructor, and early childhood students)
Review and Evaluations – Museum Babies I and II
•Logistics •Personnel •Misconceptions •Parental responses •Meeting demand •Goals for program •Goals for parents
Changes-based on evaluations
•Times of day •Frequency •activities
Crocker Art Museum
• Located in downtown Sacramento, California
• First public museum west of the Mississippi (1885)
• Collection is eclectic with a focus on Early California Art
• Recently opened the Teel Family Pavilion, which tripled the size of the Museum
Framework for Museum Education at the Crocker Art Museum
Role of Museum Education
• To attract, involve, and engage diverse audiences toward a deeper understanding of the human experience through art
• To create educational experiences that foster self-awareness and personal inquiry
Our Approach
• Committed to opening up the Museum experience for all
• Strive to ignite dialogue surrounding art
• Engage visitors in exploring their own creativity
• Use inquiry, dialogue and play
All About Families/Early Childhood Initiative
• Officially launched its AAF-ECI in June 2011
• Seed program was Wee Wednesday, started in 2008
• Key Program Components for AAF-ECI • Collection-driven
• Designed to support development of school readiness skills (especially literacy skills)
• Research-based
• Intentional about modeling for parents
• Programs for parents and/or children
Living Interpretation (Wee Wednesday, Baby Loves Art, and
Family Festivals for families with young children)
Story Trail • Families with young children can check out a “Birdy’s
Museum Adventure” from the Museum Admission Desk;
• Book and Trail markers lead family/groups through the Museum through a delightful story/narrative;
• Gallery Stops: 7 stops with “Tot Talk” labels, and cuddle spaces;
• Culminates in Tot Land
Tot Land • Thematically builds upon the notion of birds and “nesting” drawn from the Story Trail
book
• Three areas: 1) Interactive Living Art Wall, 2) Reading, and 3) Hands-on Art
• Includes collection pieces
Early Childhood Initiative
“A” is for Art (for Pre-K groups)
& Library Art
Packs (Ages: 3 – 5)
Family Workshops
Studio Classes
Camps
Stacey Shelnut-Hendrick Director of Education Crocker Art Museum T: 916.808.5780 F: 916.808.7372 [email protected]
Sarah Wright Associate Curator, Family and Youth Programs Gilcrease Museum T: 918.596.2774 F: 918.596.2770 [email protected]
Susan Kuliak Interim Trott Family Director of Interpretive Exhibitions and Family Programs The Art Institute of Chicago T: 312.443.3930 F: 312.443.3066 [email protected]
Lisa Incatasciato Family Programs Coordinator Peabody Essex Museum T: 978.542.1529 F: 978.741.8793 [email protected]