NAAM SCHOOL TOURS

NAAM is excited to offer docent-guided tours of its galleries to local school groups. These interactive and inquiry-based tours are offered throughout the year, providing an in-depth look at the history, art and culture of African Americans in the Pacific Northwest. Explore the Journey Gallery with our knowledgeable docents as they take you on a fascinating adventure through space and time, giving you glimpses of the vibrant and exciting experiences of the African American community in the Northwest from 1790 to the present. Then enter the Northwest Gallery, which features the work and lives of two artists who profoundly reshaped our region’s cultural landscape, Jacob Lawrence and James W. Washington Jr. The beautiful and captivating works of Lawrence and Washington help illuminate the ways in which this region’s people, history and geography influenced their artwork and were reshaped by their presence.

Tours typically last 30-45 minutes and are aligned with the Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements. Docent-led tours are adaptable to the needs of the classroom teacher; please let us know the content you want emphasized and we will try to accommodate you. Students in grades K-6 can also participate in a structured hands-on learning activity in the NAAM classroom.

Group Size

A single group can range from 1-30 students. One chaperone is required for every 7 students. All chaperones receive free admission but we do ask that they take an active role in supervising students during the tour, as necessary.

Scheduling a Tour

Tours must be scheduled at least THREE WEEKS in advance depending on available time and gallery space. Reservations can be made by downloading a Tour Request Form and returning it to the Museum. Alternatively, the Tour Request Form can be faxed or mailed to your attention and then returned to the Museum. Tour bookings are made on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Availability and Fees

School tours are offered on Wednesdays and Fridays, beginning at 12:00pm and 2:00pm.

The fee for school tours is $3 per student. One chaperone is admitted free per seven students. Please do not submit payment with your Tour Request Form. You will receive an invoice and payment directions with your confirmation letter.

Preparing for Your Visit

After submitting the Tour Request Form to the Museum, you will receive a confirmation letter with important information about your visit, tips for teachers and chaperones, suggestions for pre-visit activities, a map for your driver(s) and an invoice. You will also receive a telephone call from a docent or Education Department staff member confirming where to meet your tour guide, how to make arrangements for visitors with special needs, and telephone numbers to call if you need to make changes in your scheduled tour. Feel free to ask the docent any questions you have regarding your upcoming visit.

Parking/Bus

Students will be greeted by a docent or education department staff member at the front entrance to the Museum. Bus parking is available at the Museum and the map provided with the confirmation letter will indicate where this parking is located.

Lunch

Groups are encouraged to bring sack lunches to enjoy in the outdoor areas when the weather is good or in the NAAM classroom if that space is available. This can be discussed further once the Museum has received your Tour Request Form.

*If you have questions or to schedule a school tour, please contact Brian J. Carter at:
bcarter@naamnw.org.

NAAM Workshops

I PAINT MY WORLD

Grade Level:
3-6
Objective:
Familiarization with the narrative painting style of renowned artist Jacob Lawrence.
Time:
50-55 mins.
Availability:
April 1, 2008 ñ February 17, 2009
Related Exhibition:
Creating a World, Making a Life: Jacob Lawrence and James W. Washington, Jr.

Overview:
I Paint My World introduces students to Jacob Lawrence’s unique narrative painting style. Today, his work is represented in almost two hundred museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Seattle Art Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Working in teams, students will create a painting using the same elements of color, shape and process to depict their lives here in the Northwest. They will be encouraged to look at their own communities - their schools, familiar landmarks, geographic features, families and friends - to illustrate their own life experiences. Each team will then share their paintings with the rest of the class, explaining how they see their community, who and what it is composed of, and what is important to them. Students will leave with an art packet that allows them to construct a piece at home. The paintings will remain at the Museum and become part of a larger series composed of I Paint My World creations made throughout the year.

Brief biography of Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000)
World-renowned painter Jacob Lawrence used bold primary colors and strong geometric figures to create striking visual narratives that explored the history and culture of the African American experience. A tenured professor of art at the University of Washington, Jacob Lawrence was truly a cultural gem of this region.

Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements Alignment:

The Arts
The student understands and applies arts knowledge and skills.
1.1       The student understands arts concepts and vocabulary.
1.2       The student develops art skills and techniques.

The student demonstrates thinking skills using artistic processes.
2.1      The student applies a creative process in the arts.

The student communicates through the arts.
3.1       The student uses the arts to express and present ideas and feelings.
3.2       The student uses art to communicate for a specific purpose.

The Student makes connections within and across the arts, to other disciplines, life, cultures, and work.
4.4       The student understands that the arts shape and reflect culture and history.

Social Studies-History
The student examines and understands major ideas, eras, themes, developments, turning points, chronology, and cause-effect relationships in United States, world, and Washington State history.
1.3       The student will examine the influence of culture on United States, world, and Washington State history

Builder with Pear, 1998

Jacob Lawrence

IMAGINATION STATIONS

Grade Level:
K-2
Objective:
Unlock the creative potential of the individual by exploring the inspirations of local artist James W. Washington, Jr.
Time:
30-35 mins.
Availability:
April 1, 2008 - February 17, 2009
Related Exhibition:
Creating a World, Making a Life: Jacob Lawrence and James W. Washington, Jr.

Overview:
Imagination Stations introduces students to the work of local artist James W. Washington, Jr., a celebrated sculptor and painter. Mr Washington believed that the act of painting and sculpting was an individual expression, yet the art itself had a force or spirit that connected people to one another, uniting all human beings around universal human experiences. During his many visits to local classrooms, Mr. Washington always stressed the importance of this "university of art". He felt that each individual could unlock their own creative potential if given the proper opportunity. This workshop gives students the opportunity to explore their own creativity through the universality of art. Students will be invited to approach 1 of 16 imagination stations, containing an object that inspired Mr. Washington’s work. Students will not be able to see into the imagination station, but must reach into the station to explore the object- its texture, its size, its hardness, its weight, its structure, its feel. They will then draw what they tactually experience in the station, using crayons, markers, feathers, pieces of fabric, and an assortment of other materials. They will be asked to speculate as to the object’s color, where it would be found, who might use it, what noises it might make. Once students have completed their pieces, they will be allowed to open the box and view its contents. They will also be able to view a reproduction of a Washington piece that was inspired by the object. Students will leave with their creations.

Brief Biography of James W. Washington, Jr. (1909-2000)
As a member of the noted Northwest School, James W. Washington Jr. was a tremendously talented sculptor and painter. He drew inspiration for his pieces from the animals, plants, spirituality, people and events that populated his world.

Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements Alignment:

The Arts
The student understands and applies arts knowledge and skills.
1.2       The student develops art skills and techniques.

The student demonstrates thinking skills using artistic processes.
2.3       The student will apply a responding process to an arts presentation.

The student communicates through the arts.
3.3       The student uses the arts to express and present ideas and feelings.
3.4       The student uses art to communicate for a specific purpose.

My Testimony in Stone, 1981

James W. Washington Jr.

*To make a reservation for this workshop, please contact Brian J. Carter at bcarter@naamnw.org.

Youth Docent/Curator Program

While participants have already been selected for the first year of this program, NAAM will look to expand the number of participants for the second year of the program (starting February, 2009). Information regarding the 2nd class of Youth Docent/Curators will be available in Fall 2008. If you would like information regarding the 2nd year of this program, please email the Education Director, Brian J. Carter, at bcarter@naamnw.org.

Internships

NAAM has a limited number of internships available for high school and college students. Selection for these positions is highly competitive and interns will be expected to have a sincere interest in furthering the mission of the Museum. Interns may be called upon to work in a number of Museum areas including exhibit development, exhibit fabrication, research, collections management and education. All persons interested in an internship at NAAM should fill out a Volunteer Application and return it to the Museum with a current resumé and two references.