Museum-Based Programs for School and After-School
Groups Programs Feature

• inquiry-based learning
• hands-on activities with Museum objects
• connections to school curricula
• interdisciplinary connections
• attention to varied learning styles

Programs promote

• critical thinking
• visual literacy
• oral expression

To learn how to schedule a visit, click here.

To view more information on the following Museum-Based Programs please see our Activities and Lesson Plans.There you will find background information, curriculum connections, classroom activities, and further resources for each of these programs.

For more information about Museum-Based Programs please contact Diane Clifford, Manager of School and Tour Services, dclifford@brucemuseum.org or (203) 869-6786, ext. 324.

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Temporary Exhibition-Related Program
Grades Pre-K, K
Grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Middle School and High School

Temporary Exhibition-Related Programs

A tour or interactive art program may be developed to focus on any of the Museum’s changing exhibitions. All Museum-Based Programs feature inquiry-based learning, hands-on activities, and connections to school curricula. All programs are 60 minutes in length.

• Through October 18, 2009
  The Mouse House: Art from the Collection of Olga Hirshhorn
  Students will view over 200 works of art in a recreation of collector Olga Hirshhorn’s diminutive “Mouse House” located in Washington, D.C. Featured artists include Pablo Picasso, Willem de Kooning, Man Ray, and Louise Nevelson.

• Through November 8, 2009
  West African Gold from the Ivory Coast: The Olga Hirshhorn Collection
  This exhibition features Olga Hirshhorn’s collection of ceremonial West African gold ornaments, focusing on the craftsmanship of the Baule and Lagoon peoples of Côte d’Ivoire.

• September 26, 2009-January 10, 2010
  Alchemy: Magic, Myth or Science?
  School programs are available beginning on October 7th. This interdisciplinary exhibition explores the history of alchemy through both the science and art it inspired. Students will receive an introduction to the practice of alchemy from ancient times through its flourishing in the 16th and 17th centuries and explore basic science and chemistry concepts.

• October 3, 2009 – January 24, 2010
  Charles Addams: Cartoonist
  This exhibition displays 20th century artist Charles Addams’ witty and humorous cartoons and characters, which were regularly featured in the The New Yorker.

• October 31, 2009 – January 31, 2010
  Alexander Calder: Printmaker
  School programs are available beginning on November 11th. One of America’s best-known sculptors, Alexander Calder produced hundreds of etchings, lithographs, and silkscreen prints throughout his long career. This exhibition will showcase Calder’s fine art prints, watercolor paintings, and several pieces of sculpture that visually relate to the prints on exhibition.

• November 21, 2009 – November 28, 2010
  Eat or be Eaten: Animal Survival
  School programs are available beginning on December 2nd. Students will learn about the many animal adaptations that help both predators and their prey survive in nature.

• January 23, 2010 – April 25, 2010
  Exotic Encounters: Art, Travel & Modernity in the Collection of the Bruce Museum
  School programs are available beginning on January 27th. Experience traveling around the globe without leaving Greenwich! Examine fine artworks, historic artifacts, and natural science specimens from around the world that have found their way into the Bruce Museum’s Permanent Collection.

• January 30, 2010 – May 30, 2010
  Writing the Earth: 2,000 Years of Geography and Mapping
  

• February 12, 2010– June 6, 2010
  Looking for Lincoln
  School programs are available beginning on February 24th. Students will explore the life and times of the Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States, through the examination of original photographs, glass negatives, a life mask, bronze sculptures, and other period artifacts.

All programs are 45 minutes in length.

Art Programs

• Student art programs are based on current museum exhibitions. Students are encouraged to develop critical thinking skills and visual literacy through observation and interpretation of artworks. Programs may be adapted to focus on aesthetics, art history, history, sociology, literature, writing etc. Please let us know the objectives for your class when making a reservation.

• Woodland Indian Life By listening to storytelling in the wigwam and handling Native American artifacts and reproductions, children can understand the life of a Woodland Indian family before colonial contact. Students participate in games and activities.

• Animal Adaptations Different body coverings, colors, and physical structures help vertebrates (mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish) adapt to their environments, find food, and escape from predators. Children learn these concepts, develop their observation and communication skills by handling fur pelts and animal mounts, visit the woodland diorama, and complete/take home a craft activity.

• Crusty Crabs (offered May - November) Is it alive? How can you tell it’s a crab, seastar, seasnail, etc.? How do different sea creatures grow? Students will learn how to safely handle small live sea creatures and use basic observation, counting, and classification skills. Students may also create a hermit crab craft.

• Butterflies Students explore symmetry in nature while learning about the structure and patterns of butterflies. The butterfly life cycle is introduced and the program ends with a symmetry game and craft project.

Grades 1 - 5

All programs are 60 minutes in length.

Art Programs

• Student art programs are based on current museum exhibitions. Students are encouraged to develop critical thinking skills and visual literacy through observation and interpretation of artworks. Programs may be adapted to focus on aesthetics, art history, history, sociology, literature, writing etc. Please let us know the objectives for your class when making a reservation.

• Woodland Indian Life A full-size reconstruction of a Woodland Indian wigwam and artifacts from local archaeological sites help recreate the life of coastal Native Americans of our area. Students use critical thinking skills as they become history detectives and take part in an artifact interpretation activity. * This program complements the “I Am an Archeologist” program. A discount is offered when both are requested for the same school group.

• I Am an Archaeologist (Grades 3, 4, & 5) How do archaeologists work? What kinds of artifacts do they collect and why? How do they interpret artifacts? Students make observations at a late Woodland Indian site exhibition and use critical thinking and communication skills as they work in teams, recording and interpreting artifacts in reconstructed test pits in our workshop. * This program complements the “Woodland Indian Life” program. A discount is offered when both are requested for the same school group.

• Coastal Ecology (offered May - November) This program introduces students to the marine ecosystem of the Long Island Sound. Students learn how to handle live invertebrates and plants in our marine tank, observe their structure and adaptations to the marine environment, and explore the intertidal food chain.

• Mineral Marvels (Grades 3, 4, & 5) What is a mineral? Students will investigate the Museum’s mineral collection, learn to classify minerals based on their many properties, and then use these skills to identify minerals in everyday objects such as pencils, makeup, and baby powder. Primary science skills (observing, recording, and hypothesizing) are used as students handle and examine specimens.

  The Bruce Museum’s environmental galleries are excellent for lessons on conservation, the watershed, ecology, and the formation of Long Island Sound. Please inquire as to how we can develop a program to fit your needs.

All programs are 60 minutes in length.

Art Programs

• Student art programs are based on current museum exhibitions. Students are encouraged to develop critical thinking skills and visual literacy through observation and interpretation of artworks. Programs may be adapted to focus on aesthetics, art history, history, sociology, literature, writing etc. Please let us know the objectives for your class when making a reservation.