The entire 6th grade was able to travel together for an epic experience to the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH.
On our trip up to the Currier Museum of Art, students sat on the bus anticipating what they might see in the museum.
“What kind of art will I see?”
“Will I be able to walk around the museum and explore?”
“ How big are some of the paintings?”
These were a few questions students asked me on the bus, which proved their interest and curiosity for this field trip. Not all students I spoke with had been at an art museum before. Some students had been to the Currier, some had been to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and some had been to children’s museums around the New England area. The one thing all students from CSDA had not experienced before is going to a museum with their peers.
When we were walking around the museum, students observed and listened, but asked important questions to their guides.
“What time period did the painting come from?”
“Where was the sculpture made?”
“Where was the sculpture made?”
“Who was the artist?”
Teachers were able to tie students learning from the museum into their curriculum. In art, students have been able to reflect upon how to display artwork and where are the best places visually to put up work like we saw in the museum. Also, the students could observe and infer what they saw in the painting by thinking of the mood, the characters, the description, just like they do everyday with poetry. In social studies, students have explored Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, and currently Ancient Greece. It was fantastic for the students to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of different artwork when it involved different parts of history they have learned about.
Currently in writing, teachers are using different pieces of artwork and having students create a story. Interpreting art with their own schema and thoughts has shown just how invested they were at the field trip and how full their imagination is!
Currently in writing, teachers are using different pieces of artwork and having students create a story. Interpreting art with their own schema and thoughts has shown just how invested they were at the field trip and how full their imagination is!
Overall, our experience at the Currier was an outstanding one. Between the hands on art students were able to create, and the professionalism of the volunteer guides who took us around the museum, it was a successful field trip.The one common piece of feedback I heard students ask over and over since we have left the museum, is they wish they had more time to walk around the explore the museum. One quote that stood out before we headed back to Brookline, “ I didn’t know a museum could be so much fun!” Thank you to the Bank of New Hampshire and the Currier Museum of Art for offering a grant to help offset our bus costs so this experience could happen for CSDA!
