TOUR TOPICS & LESSON PLANS

Permanent Collection Tours and Lesson Plans

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Chaperone Guidelines

Explore the Elements of Art
Grades 1-3
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On this amazing exploration students will discover the fundamental elements of art. During this expedition through the Museum’s cross-cultural collection, including African, Pre-Columbian, Chinese, European, and American Art, students will discover lines, shapes, colors, textures, and patterns and see how artists from around the world use these elements in creating art.

What’s the Story?
Grades 1-6
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Paintings, sculptures, and other art objects can illustrate historical events, Biblical stores, famous myths and legends, or personal memories. Other works of art invite us to create our own stories. On this tour, students play detective looking at clues in the works of art to figure out the story being told, the hero, and any other plot complications.

African Adventure
Grades 1-6
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Students who embark on this African adventure will explore the position of artists in African societies, the ceremonial and daily uses of masks and other sculptures, and the geography and history of Africa. Among the concepts covered will be abstraction, symbolism, symmetry, line, shape, and texture.

Materials and Meaning
Grades 3-12
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Throughout history, artists have innovatively used materials in expressing their ideas and beliefs, and in making objects for a variety of uses. Discover how geography, values, needs, media, and technology affect the creation of works of art in different times and places.

People, Places, and Things
Grades 4-8
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This tour introduces the variety of subjects artists use to express themselves. For inspiration, artists often look in the mirror, out the window, at their families, or at a bowl of fruit. This tour provides an overview of portraits, landscapes, and still lifes from the 17th century to the present, and places the art objects into a larger historical context.

Image to Word
Grades 4-12
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Enhance your students' visual literacy through close observation of artworks and dynamic writing exercises that encourage interpretation and creative thinking. From character monologues to poetry, students will enjoy practicing their writing skills in the unique environment of the museum.  This tour is limited to a maximum of 40 students.

The Art of Abstraction
Grades 4-12
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Abstract art can sometimes be puzzling. This tour is designed to acquaint students with abstraction by looking at works from the ancient world, Africa, and Pre-Columbian and Western civilizations. Students’ visual literacy and higher level thinking skills will be used as they explore artists’ use of materials, scale, and representation to communicate meaning. Let’s solve some puzzles!

Brooks Passport
Grades 7 to Adult
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Students can travel to different times and places through the art collection of the Brooks and discover works ranging from antiquity to the present. While they explore the art of Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, the Americas, Europe, and Africa, they will also learn about these cultures. Tours

For additional information about these tours, please contact the Education department at 901.544.6215 or e-mail edu@brooksmuseum.org.

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