This past fall, the Museum once again came alive with audiences of all ages creating art inspired by the Museum’s diverse collections and exciting new exhibitions. Our education programs reached record attendance numbers of almost 3,000 participants this fall alone, and we continued to reach new groups far beyond the walls of the Museum. Our youngest Mini Masters (ages 2–5) learned about colors through Rolland Golden’s River and Reverie exhibit, our Art Zone afterschool students travelled back through time to create 3D replicas of Ancient Greek pottery, and hundreds of school children were reached through tours at the Museum.
Family Activity Days exploring watercolors, basket weaving, and holiday prints drew record numbers this fall as parents, grandparents, and children of all ages worked together to create their own masterpieces. “Our Family Activity Days offer the unique opportunity for a truly enriching, intergenerational experience as parents and children learn and create together inspired by Museum exhibits,” says Curator of Education, Emily Dean.
Central to the mission of the University and to the Museum is extending educational programming beyond the physical location of the Museum. We continue to partner for regular programming with Leap Frog afterschool program, the Lafayette County and Oxford Public Library, and have started monthly programming with EDUCATE afterschool program in Como, MS. Our Traveling Trunks are designed to provide cultural and artistic enrichment in the classroom setting while meeting state and national curriculum standards. In addition to school groups, our Traveling Trunk program reached 365 students through counseling programs in seven counties and more than 200 participants in partnership with Very Special Arts last fall.
This spring we are expanding lessons in our trunks to reach grades K-12, and we are projecting numbers of more than 5,000 participants at no cost to participating schools or groups.
This semester we are partnering with the Powerhouse and local artist Andi Bedsworth to offer Mini Masters classes for toddlers and parents in alternating locations, making this truly a community program. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and join our mailing list to find out more about our unique programming offered for a variety of age groups. Summer Camp registration has begun, so sign up today because this will be a spring and summer at the Museum that you will not want to miss!
