The Wellin Museum of Art welcomed 40 local teachers from nine school districts for An Evening of Art for Educators on Oct. 3. The event provided area teachers with student docent-guided tours of the museum along with educator packets containing lesson plans related to its current exhibitions, A Sense of Place and Frohawk Two Feathers: You Can Fall.
In August, the Wellin hosted a think tank event with educators from Clinton, Oriskany, New York Mills, Sauquoit, and the homeschooling community. The teachers provided feedback about making collaborations between schools and the museum worthwhile. A special concern of that initial meeting was exploring ways to fulfill the Common Core Standards. The museum’s lesson plans focus on object-based learning, critical-thinking, and visual literacy skills, offering educators creative ways to teach while fulfilling state and federally mandated curricula.
“Our goal is to raise awareness of the Wellin as an educational resource, and to spark a dialogue among area teachers about how the museum’s collections and exhibitions can be utilized to enhance educational experiences,” says Manager of Educational Programming and Outreach Megan Austin.
Austin and school and family educator Amber Spadea are reaching out to create an extension of the classroom, designing lessons and projects that integrate art throughout numerous disciplines, including English language arts, social studies, math and technology, while meeting the standards.
Since opening one year ago, the Wellin has become a great resource to teachers and students in the Central New York region, acting as a portal to the art world. With the launch of new educational programs and partnerships for schools, the museum is presenting access to Hamilton’s educational purposes and goals for area educators to utilize art through interdisciplinary lessons, tours, on-site classroom visits, workshops, events and special projects.
