ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM | RAM TALKS ART | BACK TO SCHOOL: ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM OFFERS MANY FIELD TRIP OPPORTUNITIES

RAM Talks Art: Back to school: Rockford Art Museum offers many field trip opportunities

By Elizabeth Dailing, Education Director, Rockford Art Museum

Rockford Art Museum's (RAM) Artist-in-Residence field trip offers kids of any age a firsthand opportunity to learn from a professional in the art world. Kids tour RAM's exhibition, and then work with the artist on a related visual arts project.

Most kids won't want to hear me say it, many parents will be happy to hear it, but we're getting close to back to school. Yes, sending kids off on the bus to learn, play and, well, be back on a schedule.

There are still opportunities for integrated learning outside of school. Whether it's a classroom field trip, a Scouts outing or a home-school outing, we have some wonderful field trips that allow kids to learn from specialists in their fields.

If it's art, dance and science you are looking to address, Terrific Tuesday is a great field trip opportunity. Discovery Center Museum, Rockford Art Museum and Rockford Dance Company collaborate on this program that works from a variety of themes to explore commonalities between these disciplines. There are three theme options: Mixin' It Up (K-6), Body Basics (K-6) and Simple Machines (4-8). Each and every lesson and activity is aligned with Illinois State Standards and offered on one site. This coordinated learning experience will expressively engage their bodies and minds in art, dance and science.

However, if it's a little more of an arts-focused approach you're looking for, there's also Fabulous Fine Arts Fridays. This program is offered by Rockford Art Museum, Rockford Dance Company, and Rockford Symphony Orchestra. The theme this year is MAD Math, and third-graders can come and see how common vocabulary can be applied to the different arts and how integral a role math plays in the development of different art forms.

There's also an Artist-in-Residence field trip opportunity we offer at RAM, where kids of any age can come, tour the exhibition and then work with an artist on a related visual arts project. This gives them a first-hand opportunity to learn from a professional in the art world, and allows them to see relationships between professional exhibitions and their own abilities.

Now, if this year's teacher isn't planning a field trip to any of the above locations, parents can use some of our resources online to make the connections. For each major exhibition, we produce an educator guide (located in our teacher resource section on our Web site, www.rockfordartmuseum.org). This educator guide provides relevant information about the exhibition, didactic panels, artists and also includes extension activities. So, you can plan a family trip to RAM to view the exhibition and help prepare your kids for what they are about to see, and even do an art project at home after they are inspired by what they just saw. And, if you are a teacher, you can do the same.

Thinking ahead, we included State Standards there as well! One more thing to do is to ask at the gallery desk for a copy of the current I Spy worksheet to keep the kids engaged and encourage them to look at the details of each piece of artwork they view.

The bottom line is, learning doesn't have to happen only in the classroom. It can happen here, and can happen often. We're trying to provide as many options to engage kids in exhibitions and hope you check them out soon. If you have questions or suggestions, we're here and always looking for feedback. Hope there's an art-related field trip in your child's future, and, if not, I would encourage you to create one yourselves!

Contact Rockford Art Museum Education Director Elizabeth Dailing at edailing@rockfordartmuseum.org.

from the Aug. 20-26, 2008, issue

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