Are you looking for ways to convince the science or math teacher in your school that art should be integrated into their classroom? The Walters Art Museum has just launched a new interdisciplinary K-12 educational website which help you with this challenge!

     Integrating the Arts: Mummies, Manuscripts, and Madonnas is designed for middle school teachers and students. However, it is adaptable to all ages and grades. The resource was designed to allow teachers to “teach” the core subjects of mathematics, language arts, science, and social studies by using selected Walters’ art objects. The site gives teachers the ability to select activities and content to design their own lessons—either on screen or as printouts. The Walters worked with Sandbox Studios of Minneapolis, Minnesota  to design this educational resource. We are the first museum to have a web program using “Pachyderm” (the authoring software) installed on its server.

     The first installment of this resource features medieval works of art. In Fall 2007, we will launch the next portion of the site featuring works from our ancient collection.  In the future, Renaissance and Asian works will be added.

     The activities featured on this site are perfect to send home with your students and for classroom use. For example, if you are teaching a lesson using primary sources as evidence, you can log onto the site and participate in “A Proverbial Game.” Students are challenged to use their reasoning to match the illustrations from a manuscript of proverbs to the text that accompanies the pictures.  Another activity asks students to act as an art historian and use critical thinking and sequencing skills to reassemble an altarpiece of the life of Saint Sebastian. Before they can reassemble the altarpiece, they have to travel around the world to find the missing parts of the altar. The guesses made by the students are then compared to the thoughts of an expert. 

     Other features of the site include two videos – an Introduction to Manuscripts and Making a Manuscript, two medieval manuscripts that you can view page-by-page, and descriptive writing activities.  Additionally, teachers and students can find five printable lesson plans that relate to math, science, language arts, and social studies.

     Teachers and administrators from the State of Maryland selected the images and content found on the site. We worked closely with these individuals to assure the information presented is relevant to the curriculum and adheres to the Maryland State Standards.

     The Walters has a long and rich history of serving as an educational resource for the K–12 community throughout the state of Maryland. We developed Integrating the Arts: Mummies, Manuscripts, and Madonnas to extend our reach even further.  It aligns with local, state, and national standards and uses authentic ways to incorporate art into the core classroom curriculum.  We are also providing a rich resource that aligns with major focus areas within the K–12 school systems throughout the state of Maryland: arts integration and the use of computer technology.

     Tell us what you think! An on-line evaluation is available both on the Walters website and can be accessed throughout the site. Please fill out the on-line evaluation after you have visited the site and let us know what you think. Once you have completed the evaluation, you will be entered in our monthly raffle where you can win a great prize!

     Want to know more?
Look for us at NAEA where we will be presenting this site.  Art Museum Education Technology for Everyone will be held on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. You can also email akodeck@thewalters.org for more information on the site or teacher training on the resource.

Where is it on the web?   www.thewalters.org
Visit Education/Interactive Media.   Explore and have fun.

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