Before your Visit:
Talk about what you all will see at the museum. Read about the OJAC and its collections online and explore the Art for All Digital Education Guide to gain some familiarity with pieces in the permanent collection and the current temporary exhibition.
Discuss how artworks and artifacts end up in museums (collecting, donating, archaeology, etc.).
Ask your children what they are excited to see. Let them decide on a plan for navigating the museum. However, be flexible—this plan is likely to change.
Review safety and behavior rules with the children. Remind the children that they must use their quiet museum voice, that they cannot touch the artworks or cases, that photographs must be taken outside, and that they must be aware of their physical activity in the museum (no running, they must watch where they are going, etc.) You and your children should be prepared to stay together within the galleries so that you can enforce these rules.
During your Visit:
You and each of your children should sign the guestbook and place a pin in the map indicating your hometown! Each year in June, the museum staff removes the pins from the maps to start a new survey of the places from which our visitors come. Point out to your children some of the interesting places where previous OJAC visitors live (Tasmania, Japan, Chile, Europe, etc.).
Consult with the front desk staff. The greeter can give you an idea as to the layout of the museum, direct you to specific objects that your children want to see first, and provide some history of the museum and its collections. Pick up a Family Guide for the current temporary exhibition.
Let your children lead-- allow them to experience the museum at their own pace. Don’t be surprised if this is something of a meandering trail; remember to be flexible.
Discuss your children’s questions about the artworks. If you don’t know the answers, ask the staff at the front desk for help. Ask your children questions about the artworks. These questions should encourage the children to use their imaginations, to explore the labels, and to look closely at the artworks: “How would you imagine the pre-Columbian people entertained themselves?” “Why do you think that Chinese dancer’s sleeves are so long?” “How do you think that the artist made this artwork?”
Relate objects in the collection to things the children already know (things they have learned in school, area and family history, community and culture, etc.).
Play Gallery Games. Everyone will enjoy playing these games. They stimulate the children’s curiosity, sharpen their observation skills, and help maintain their attention as you move from gallery to gallery. You could try a different game in each gallery or try a different game each time that you visit! Often, there are games included in the Family Guide for the current temporary exhibition; here are some that you can play in any of the exhibitions: Museum and Gallery Games.
Peruse the shelves of the OJAC Green Art Research Library . After you have looked through the galleries, have your children each decide on an artist or culture about whom they would like to learn. Let your children look up the artist or culture on the online library catalog. Help your children find the appropriate books and read together to answer their questions.
Watch the videos in the Stasney Center for Education to discover more about the history of Shackelford County, Albany, Fort Griffin, and the Fandangle.
Look to your children for indications that it is time to leave. Thirty minutes to an hour is likely the longest amount of time that you can expect your children to remain actively engaged (less time for young children). Often, children are overwhelmed by seeing so much at one time. You do not want your children to dread coming to the museum or to think that a museum visit is a boring activity because they are forced to stay too long. You can take a break—walk to the nearby Albany Labyrinth or to the Shackelford County Courthouse—and then return, or visit us again to see what you missed.
After You Leave the Museum
Continue the learning experience by completing the suggested post-visit activities in the Family Guide.
Ask your children about their experience at the museum: “What did you enjoy seeing most?” “What was the weirdest thing you saw?” “What was the oldest thing you saw?” “What did you really want to touch?” “What did you not like?” Always follow such questions with: “Why?”
Create, together at home, a sculpture, mobile, painting, or drawing based on one of the OJAC artworks that your child admired. Look to the Create It! in the Activity Arenas of the four units in the Art for All Digital Education Guide for step-by-step directions for four such projects.
Help your children build collections at home. Children’s collections can be made out of simple objects, many of which they probably already have: dolls, trading cards, marbles, bottle caps, stickers, buttons, shells, rocks, stamps. Collecting can be a great hobby and learning tool for children. Suggest that your child rearrange the collection in a variety of ways: by color, by shape, by texture, by age, by the order in which the objects were acquired. Help your child look for patterns and relationships among the pieces. Encourage your child to maintain and add to the collection.