Ancient Egypt & Its Art

Students tour the Ancient Egypt Gallery, learn an age-old metalworking technique, and then create an ancient Egyptian inspired relief.

Layered Experience: Pairs well with Ancient Egypt Gallery (Guided Tour or Exploration), Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs (Planetarium Show), and Forensic Crime Lab (Class).

Art Gallery Apprenticeship

After studying the concepts, materials, and processes employed by artists in the current exhibition, students return to the studio where they apply what they have learned to produce their own original masterpieces. Critical, analytical, and creative thinkig come together as students deepen their appreciation for fine art.

Beetles, Bugs, & Butterflies

This artful approach to science motivates students to explore the amazing world of insects while learning about adaptations, physiology, and the role insects play in their daily lives. Colorful, take-home art projects creatively reinforce scientific concepts.

Layered Experience: Pairs well with Miss Trudy’s Traveling Trunk Show (Interactive Educational Theater), Flight of the Butterflies (Planetarium Show), and Lin Emery: A Force of Nature (Exhibition Guided Tour or Exploration).

Exploring Abstract Art

Works by famous twentieth-century artists such as Picasso are used to introduce the concept of abstraction. Students then enjoy the creative challenge of expressing themselves through self-portraits.

Fall/Winter Exhibition - Lin Emery: A Force of Nature Guided Tour

Lin Emery (b. 1928) is an internationally recognized sculptor based in New Orleans. Inspired by the lyrical beauty she finds in nature, Emery produces sculpture that is constantly in motion, a type of art called kinetic art. Powered by water, wind, or magnetic forces, her elegant abstract forms fashioned from welded aluminum reflect light as they sway and dance and sometimes make music. Students will discuss the various forces of nature from gravity to water and wind, learn about the history of kinetic art, and experience the work of one of Louisiana’s most preeminent sculptors. Exhibition organized by Louisiana Art & Science Museum.

Layered Experience: Pairs well with Beetles, Bugs, and Butterflies (Class), Weatherwise (Interactive Educational Theater), and Secrets of Gravity: In the Footseteps of Albert Einstein (Planetarium Show). 

Geometry & Quilts

This class encourages students to recognize real-world connections between mathematics and the craft of quilting. Students are introduced to traditional patchwork quilts and participate in activities that support geometry standards while reinforcing mathematical understanding.

Journaling: Learning to Look & Looking to Write

Unique activities in the art galleries encourage students to investigate original works of art while exploring three types of writing: argumentative, informational/explanatory, and narrative. Students examine primary and secondary sources, learn from one another through thoughtful discussions, and participate in journaling activities.

Tessellations

This class introduces students to M. C. Escher, the artist who made tessellations popular. Students explore the geometrical transformation behind Escher’s designs while using their imagination and applying mathematical skills to create unique tessellations.

Winter/Spring Exhibition - Finding Vivian Maier Guided Tour

What are the odds of a camera-toting babysitter becoming a famous photographer? Vivian Maier (1926-2009) worked as a nanny for about forty years on Chicago’s North Shore, taking candid shots of people while on field trips with her young charges. Children playing tag, ladies admiring shop windows, and men waiting for the bus are among the approximately 100,000 photographs by Maier, which were shot in black and white and later color film. Maier became an instant celebrity posthumously when an anonymous trunk of undeveloped film came up at auction in 2009. The purchaser later posted the images on the Internet, catching the attention of art critics world-wide. Students will discuss the difference between traditional photography and digital imagery, learn what makes a successful composition, and talk about the art tradition of street photography.

Layered Experience: Pairs well with Bright Light (Class) and Seeing! (Planetarium Show).