A Trip to the Dayton Art Institute
At the beginning of April, we took a trip to the Dayton Art Institute. We did the Line, Shape and Color program. It was fantastic. The students not only got to see art and learn about the elements of art, but also got to see what a docent does at the museum... which helped them prepare for their job as a docent in our classroom museum.
Creating the Museum
After our trip to the museum and doing some research of our own about other museums and what they look like... students began creating things for our museum. Students decided to call our museum "The Museum of Beauty". They made the sign, the rules and columns to hang on the walls.
The Art Display
All of the student's art was displayed in a collection with the artist that inspired the work. A picture of the artist and the facts that we learned were also displayed.
The Monet Collection:
*We made a piece to mimic Monet's Water Lilies. We used tissue paper, paint brushes, and a glue/water mix.
The Van Gogh Collection:
*We made two pieces to mimic Van Gogh's work. One was a line drawing. Students drew lines, traced them with a black crayon and then used watercolors to paint between the lines. The second piece was a flower still life. Students drew a picture of real flowers, used oil pastels to color in the flowers and then painted the background with watercolors.
Picasso Collection:
*We made a Picasso piece by giving the students a face outline that they colored with colored pencils. Then students chose eyes, nose and mouth to glue on and color as well.
The Seurat Collection:
*We made a piece to mimic Seurat's work by using q-tips and paint. Students practiced the pointillism technique by making a spring tree.
The Bing Davis Collection:
*We made a piece to honor Bing Davis' work by having the students trace 2D Shapes and cut them out. Students glued them and then used oil pastels and chalk to color in and trace around the shapes. Then they added some confetti to the bottom corner.
The Matisse Collection:
*We made a piece to mimic Henri Matisse's work by having the students cut out construction paper and glue it to make an object or design. Students then told us what they made and we put a fold at the top so the visitors to our museum could guess what each student made.
Dale Chihuly Section:
*We didn't make a collection for Dale Chihuly since we only had one piece but Ms. West worked with the students to make a sculpture with plastic cups and permanent markers. He became one of their favorite artists!
Other Collections:
The other collections that were displayed in our museum were the pottery collection, the structure (block) collection, the sculpture collection, the butterfly art collection, the loose parts art collection (photographs) and the student art collection. Students also created a warm and cool colors board. These pieces were not inspired by any specific famous artists but designed by the students themselves.
The Pottery Collection:
The Sculpture Collection
The Butterfly Art Collection
The Student Art Collection
The Loose Parts Art Collection
Meet the Artists
We wanted a section in our museum where people could learn about the artists in our classroom. We created a meet the artist section. Students created a self portrait using a mirror to include all details. Then students wrote about who their favorite artist is, what their favorite kind of art is and which tool they like to use the most.
Signs and Invitations
Students created both signs and invitations to invite the other classes in our school and their parents to our art museum. To make the signs they wrote an opinion about why students at our school should come to our art museum. Then they chose a spot in the hallway to hang their sign.
Students wrote invitations to their parents to let them know about our museum. We also made pic collage pictures. They turned out so cute!
Preparing to Be Docents
We worked with the students in the hallway to prepare them to share their knowledge of the artists and the art pieces with their school mates and parents. They were so excited to become docents at our Museum of Beauty!
A Visit from Mr. Bing Davis!
Our museum opened to the public on Wednesday, May 11th! We were so excited because we had a surprise for the students... Mr. Bing Davis was coming! He came to our classroom and the students asked him questions. He told them all kinds of stories and then the docents showed him around our art museum. He also left us books and videos!
The Big Night
The best part of our art investigation experience was watching the students get to share their knowledge with their families. This is what we have been working for as reggio inspired inquiry teachers! It was very successful and I am grateful to all of the families who brought out their children. Each child got to be a docent and show their family around the museum.
The Museum of Beauty
The Museum of Beauty was a success for everyone involved. We are so pleased with the knowledge and experiences the students gained and the fact that so many people supported them in their investigation.
Meredith Moss from the Dayton Daily News came out and included the Museum of Beauty in an article written about art in schools in the Miami Valley!
