Outreach/Teacher Resources
DeCordova Outreach Programs
The classroom teacher is typically the best person to help students connect with art. For that reason, DeCordova has created a range of opportunities that support teachers wanting to better integrate visual art into their curriculum. The Museum is here to help. For more information contact the Education Department at 781/259-0505.
Gallery on the Go
For schools throughout Eastern Massachusetts, Portable Gallery on the Go exhibitions are a way to bring the DeCordova to you. For six to eight weeks, your school’s students can study a range of original contemporary artworks from the Museum’s permanent collection. DeCordova Museum Guides come the school and help students learn how to look at art. Schools also have the opportunity to host an artist (represented in the Gallery on the Go program, whenever possible) to discuss the creative process, materials, and much more. Supplementary materials are available to assist teachers in connecting the artworks, to English, Social Studies, Math, and Science.
Gallery on the Go Exhibition Themes include:
Seeing the Land explores our perceptions of the world around us, providing artists’ views on the natural environment with a specific focus on land and water.- Puzzles and Daydreams: Art Works for Thinking presents poetic images that provide rich opportunities for interpretation and the development of critical and creative thinking skills.
- Harold “Doc” Edgerton: The Inventor as Artist showcases color and black and white high-speed flash photographs by one of the greatest inventors of the twentieth century.
- Telling Stories in a Moment shares delightful narrative paintings and photographs, and makes the perfect catalyst for exploring relationships, imaginary situations, and characters in action.
- Draw Me a Story: Children’s Book Illustration invites viewers to consider the relationship between images and words, and various approaches to conveying a story.
This gallery is made possible, in part, by the Ellen Abbott Gilman Trust, with additional support from Barefoot Books, Cambridge, MA. www.barefootbooks.com
Other Teacher Resources
DeCordova is committed to assisting all educators with enriching both their and their students’ lives through contemporary art. From classroom teachers to after-school program providers, camp coordinators to church program leaders, DeCordova can help with a range of materials.
Sculpture on Site Curriculum Plans
Looking for ways to incorporate sculpture into your classroom curriculum? Sculpture on Site, a web-based resource designed specifically for teachers, contains cross-curricular lesson plans for elementary and middle-school students, grades K-8. Each lesson plan focuses on large-scale, outdoor sculpture in DeCordova’s 35-acre Sculpture Park, and is designed to be relevant to most classroom environments.
Art Works for Schools: Thinking and Learning Through Art
Art Works for Schools is a curriculum designed by DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Underground Railway Theater, and teachers from five area schools. Its purpose is to teach forms of thinking through looking at art and doing theater activities.
Teacher Workshops and Memberships
Teacher Workshops are offered throughout the year and include introductions to exhibitions, orientations to visiting the Museum, artist demonstrations and talks, hands-on activities for non-art teachers, and intensive curriculum building courses with cultural and hands-on emphases. For further details or to be added to DeCordova’s mailing list for these programs, contact the Education Department at 781/259-0505.
Teacher Memberships—check out this special Membership category
