by Teshaba Barlow, Education Intern
My experience in the education department working with different museum audiences has given me a feeling of excitement. It has given me a willingness to learn and a better understanding of how everyone brings their own experiences into the galleries and interacts with the museum educator. As an education intern, I took notes during these programs and thought about what I could learn from them. I also assisted the instructors and shared some of my input with the audience and the educator.
The first program I participated in was the Verbal Description Tour. This series is designed for visitors who are blind or have low vision. The trained educator meticulously describes details of each selected artwork, so that participants can experience the objects through senses other than sight. It was really interesting to observe how some of the participants had different kinds of abilities and pictured the guided description in their own way. Some participants were not able to see very far, and others were able to see the shadows and colors of the artwork. To see an up-close image of the work, there was an iPad which was passed around so participants could zoom in and freely see the work a little more clearly. Some of them could even make out the kinds of figures in the artwork. The educator used a lot of details when it came to describing the artwork, and we also used “touch” pieces that could be handled by participants for a tactile experience, which was really one of the highlights of the program.
The other program I assisted with is the Families and Folk Art series. I worked with one of our museum educators, Hannah Heller. For this program, we worked with kids of all ages. Children were asked to create a portrait, either of themselves or their parents, based on one of the portraits by Ammi Phillips: Girl in Red Dress with Cat and Dog. They had a variety of materials to experiment with and also the support of their parents to guide them. I even got to interact with them and ask them questions about their process and creations. The children were creative and excited to be participating in the program, and so were the parents. I would say they were the true artists of the group. It was ultimately interesting to see the outcome of their artworks. I hope to work with this kind of group again, because it was my favorite.
Museum Career Internship Program 