Preparing to teach at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Later today I'll be on a train headed toward my city.  I'll deboard at 30th Street and walk the hot mile or so to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where I'll be meeting with Barbara Bassett, who invited me to teach in this year's VAST: Nature Through Lens of Art/Science program being offered to area teachers.  We'll be reviewing the collections.  I'll be hunting for source inspirations.



It is an honor to be included in this program, described in full here.   I excerpt these lines from the online description:

Each summer the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Education department
offers K–12 teachers of all subject areas the chance to immerse
themselves in the Museum’s collections and explore the special nature of
art and its use as a classroom resource.



The natural world serves as a source of inspiration for artists and
scientists, fostering inquiry
and enlivening the imagination. This one-week seminar explores nature
through the lens of art and science and discovers the intersections
between the two disciplines. Lectures by curators and invited scholars
and gallery sessions with Museum Educators enable the examination of a
range of art from different times and places, including
seventeenth-century Dutch still lifes, Japanese scrolls, Hudson River
School paintings, and twentieth-century environmental works of art.
Special visits to area institutions the Barnes Foundation and the
Academy of Natural Sciences further supplement this seminar’s
coursework. 

Through lectures, small-group gallery discussions, writing, and hands-on
art workshops, participants will engage in approaches and activities
that can be used both in the Museum and in the classroom to promote
looking, thinking, and writing. Sessions will be led by Museum
Educators, guest speakers, and artists. Teachers will be grouped into
elementary, middle school, and high school work teams to facilitate
meaningful discussion and brainstorming of
curricular connections.


All VAST participants will receive a resource guide with background
information of artworks, discussion questions, and writing connections
to bring back to the classroom.

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