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).

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.

Radial Symmetry

Students are introduced to traditions in art exemplifying radial design. Memorable hands-on activities reinforce mathematical concepts and encourage students to visualize and predict reflective patterns. For the culminating project, each student builds a kaleidoscope to take back to school.

Starry Starry Night

Students study the stars and explore the theme of outer space as represented by artists and scientists from ancient times to present. Works by Vincent van Gogh, antique maps of constellations, and images from the Hubble Space telescope provide inspiration for students to create their own starry-night artwork.

Layered Experience: Pairs well with Magic Tree House Space Mission (Planetarium Show).

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).