The goal of our school and teacher programs is to provide students with an opportunity to connect Museum objects with their own lives and subject matter they are learning in their classrooms.
Curriculum guides are based on our collection and provide a framework for you and your students. The discussions and activities introduce some key themes and concepts for classroom reflection and lessons.
Ancient Globalization
This guide focuses on the diversity and influence in the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean Sea, such as Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Students will explore how ideas formulated BCE affect us today.
Art in Motion
This guide focuses on movement, mindfulness, and bodily awareness in response to artworks. It encourages the idea that students are welcome to experience art in whatever way they see fit, whether it be an emotional reaction or a physical response.
Experimentation and Innovation
This guide explores the role of process and creation in art. It brings attention to the making and reminds viewers of the (sometimes arduous) journey artists have translating ideas or material into artwork or artistic style.
Harriet Tubman and Abolitionism
This guide encourages students to think critically about Abolitionism, one of the most significant social movement in American history. It is based on objects from the Museum’s collection and the recently installed Harriet Tubman Monument.
How Stuff Works
This guide explores art’s role in documenting history through the artist’s experiences and connects how scientific advances have impacted society, thanks to the persistence and creativity of those who developed them.
Identity and Equity
This guide reinforces the idea that artwork is not beautiful for beauty’s sake but has a message and a purpose and it is our job, as viewers, to discern the work’s commentary and meaning.
Social Emotional Learning
This guide gives students the tools to navigate and manage their emotions, set and achieve goals, experience empathy for others, create positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. The artworks featured in this program promote self-management and self-awareness through mindfulness.
Storytelling
Storytelling is a universal mode of communication, a way to preserve and record history, as well as traditions and entertainment. This guide encourages students to participate in the observing of works of art that project a story.