What you CAN do with a degree in museum education!

As many of you may know, I have been on the desperate job hunt for awhile.  I am pleased to announce that I now have 4-5 jobs.  They are all kind of part-time (or less than part-time) gigs totaling to less than 40 hrs/week, but I am excited to be doing stuff related to museum education.  I have found that I don't explain what I am doing very articulately in conversation, so here is an attempt in the written word.  Yay jobs!  Yay art!  Yay museums!  Yay kids!

Art Within Reach
This is perhaps the coolest job of them all, in my opinion.  Cynthia Raso started Art Within Reach to teach 3-7 year olds about art history and museums.  I will be working with her to teach these classes, develop lesson plans, and figure out marketing strategies.  I came across her website one day and was so impressed that I e-mailed her asking if she needed a volunteer and/or additional paid help.  She has been so kind to allow me to join her.  I don't know if I have ever met someone so creative and brilliant in her approach to inquiry-based education.  She uses lots of activities and visuals in the gallery to interactively teach about the differences between things like wood and marble or 2-D and 3-D.  After working for several years with the Freer-Sackler Gallery (Smithsonian), she also brings in a lot of non-western art to her classes.  If you are in the DC Metro Area (or not!) check out her website to sign your kiddies up for some cultural artsy-ness.  You can send your children to kindergarten in peace knowing that they will be able to identify a Modigliani if they see one!  More information at www.artwithinreach.org.

Capitol Hill Arts Workshop
I am actually really excited about this job, too.  I submitted a proposal to teach an 8-week course at this arts workshop and it was accepted.  Do any of you remember Mrs. McConnell at Provo High?  She was my A.P. Art History teacher, but she also taught a class called Art of World Cultures.  This class is a tribute to her :)  Here's the class description:
Animals, Art and You:
This class combines world art history and unique art-making techniques for your child and you. Learn how to look at art together and nurture your child’s creativity! With a focus on animals, we will explore art techniques from places like Mali, Panama, China, and Australia. This class includes a museum field trip.  
So, it's kind of a blend of art history, studio art, and museum stuff for tiny ones and their caregivers.  I am still in the process of firming up the syllabus, but I anticipate doing things like an Aboriginal dot painting with Q-tips, Huichol yarn paintings, Japanese koi fish kites, and some sort of textile stamping project.  I realize that preschoolers may not have the attention to do a project for 45 minutes, so I will tie in books, games, and movement.  I don't mean to advertise on my blog, but I kind of do.  Give me a call if you are interested in the class or have questions.  It should be lots of fun.  We will meet Tuesdays 9:30-10:15 from Sept. 27th to Nov. 15th.  Check it out or register at http://chaw.org/index.php/classes/.  Sorry that was so advertisement-like...

National Building Museum

National Building Museum

Isn't this an awesome building??!  I will be working two jobs here.  One is a Museum Teacher/Birthday Party Person.  One is a City Vision Team Leader.  The Museum Teacher part of it means that I will be giving tours of the building and exhibits.  I know it looks like just one big opening, but there really are classrooms and exhibits on each of the levels.  Promise.  The other position means that I will help out with City Vision, a program for middle school students.  We will work with them once a week to talk about urban planning, architecture, drafting, etc. in preparation for their final project in December.  The final project is a presentation (complete with models, and interview from community members) about what they think could be done to improve/develop a specified area of DC.

National Postal Museum

Education Innovators Program

This is new program run through the Pearson Foundation, hosted at the National Postal Museum, that I was accepted into.  From September to December, I will meet with other educators to discuss, conceptualize, and try-out innovative ways to use technology in education.  Should be exciting and I am excited to bounce ideas off others, meet professionals in my field, and see my friend Hannah, who also got accepted :)