Imaginators on the Go!

As our community outreach programs have grown over the years, our Imaginators have performed mini-musicals in schools throughout Atlanta. Since the mini-musicals are geared toward the concept behind the exhibit, rather than the details of the exhibit itself, they are perfect to use in the Connected Learning: Connected Communities outreach, which we shared with you at the beginning of the summer. Now, we’re expanding our existing “Imaginators On the Go!” program to make it bigger, faster, stronger.

Designed for students in pre-K through 5th grade, “Imaginators on the Go!” offers a program with a dynamic and interactive theatre production, as well as special interactive classroom workshops that bring the learning to life. The performances and the workshops are certified for meeting both Georgia performance standards as well as STEM guidelines.

The musicals and shows include “Storm’s a-Brewin'” for pre-K through 3rd grade (weather science), “Detective Readmore and the Word Bandit,” for pre-K through 1st grade (phonics, word placement, and spelling), “Georgia Grown,” for pre-K through 3rd grade (life science, plants and trees), and “Muskogee,” for pre-K through 5th grade (social studies, Native Americans).

The in-school experience of a mini-musical is not a great deal unlike what guests see here at the Museum, with perhaps one or two amusing adaptations to the different setting. But the result is certainly the same: in “Storm’s a-Brewin’,” it’s a crowd of cheering, clapping children learning what causes the sound of thunder, joining forces to blow the selfish Mr. Storm out of the room, and answering questions about weather safety. The kids love the break from the classroom routine, and while they leave pleased with the music and the Imaginators’ funny performance, they also leave having learned one or two things.

That’s why the program is important. It teaches kids through interactive give-and-take, songs, and a very fun story while reinforcing curriculum. “Storm’s a-Brewin’,” and all of the mini-musicals, are written to entertain, educate, and engage the children, and they’re all hugely successful in doing that.

We’re also sending out Imaginator Scentists to classrooms this fall with Science on the Go!, and four workshop programs: “Gloopy Glop,” which spotlights chemical reactions, “Team Body,” which spotlights body systems and healthy eating, “Head in the Clouds,” for weather science, and “Germs!,” which is fairly self-explanatory. No actual germs will be used in these demos, and we promise not to create explosions in your classroom.

After the show is finished, the teachers can use the concepts that are introduced to enhance the classroom experience. For example, in between some of the songs, one Imaginator may engage the students with some very quick questions and answers about their own experiences with weather – how to dress in the rain, for instance – while waiting for his fellow actor to return from a lightning-fast costume change. These questions can be repeated in the class, with reminders about how the actors explained things.

Doesn’t this sound like too much fun for one school day? If you are interested in having “Imaginators on the Go!” at your school or community center, please visit our website for more information, or phone us at 404.527.5967.

Box Masters

Visitors to the Museum this month will learn about three masters of art while creating their own masterpieces, all the while becoming Box Masters. The works of Josef Albers, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Louise Nevelson will be used to teach color, structure, and sculpture, inspiring the creation of crafts, science, and architecture, with boxes!

“Homage to the Square: Apparition”, 1959. Josef Albers

Falling Water; built in 1964; designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

“Untitled” 1964. Louise Nevelson

German-born artist Josef “The Square Man” Albers created over 1,000 paintings, drawings, and prints of squares between the 1950’s and 1970’s. While some may look at these works of art and just see squares, there is both mathematics and color theory (such as the effects that colors have on one another) behind each piece. The series Homage to the Square explores what happens when different sizes and colors of squares are placed upon one another and how they create optical illusions. His experimentation inspired artists and movements, such as Geometric Abstraction, Color Field, and Op Art. In the Craft Maker Space, your little artists will channel Albers by doing a sugar cube project.

Frank Lloyd Wright, named the greatest American architect by the American Institute of Architects, started out as a draftsman in the 1880’s. Inspired by the flatness of the prairie, he created an American style of architecture which became known as the Prairie Style. This style is known for its one-floor horizontals, with rows of windows that strengthen the horizontal theme. Wright is another prolific artist who in seventy years drew over 1000 designs, half of which were actually constructed. He became a major influence on the architects that have come after him. In the Craft Maker Space, a model making project will be done to show the principles of Wright’s Prairie Style.

Russian sculptor Louise Nevelson came to America as a child in 1905. She considered herself the first recycler because she used discarded wooden objects to create her works of art. Her use of individual pieces to create one monumental sculpture is known as assemblage or “a work of art made by grouping found or unrelated objects”. Nevelson paved the way for female artists, who were not previously known to make large, sculptural pieces of art. In the Box Lab, your little sculptors and architects will be led by the Imaginators in constructing structures inspired by Wright’s buildings and sculptures encouraged by the works of Nevelson.

Don’t think we forgot about your little scientists! In the Science Maker Space, arches and triangles will be explored to see how they can strengthen bridges and buildings. Binoculars will be made using colorful gels that will show what happens when colors mix. The Lab Coat Kids Science Show will focus on light and color, by teaching your curious kids about prisms, while also learning how primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) become secondary colors (green, purple, and orange).

Who knew that boxes could inspire so many artists and works of art? We hope that everyone gets creative this month and uses what they’ve learned about boxes to make some masterpieces!

 Sources:
FrankLloydWright.org
TheArtStory.org
MetMuseum.org

Mr. Eric and Hope Hill

One of the best parts of any visit to The Children’s Museum of Atlanta is enjoying one of our programs, such as our popular mini-musicals, that are written and performed by the Imaginators, our troupe of professional actors.  Their work within our walls is only a part of what the Imaginators do, however.

In 2007, the Museum launched Connected Learning: Connected Communities.  This program repositions the Museum by defining it as not just a facility or location for learning, but rather as a valuable community resource for the purpose of education. The model is designed to put program direction and resources in the hands of communities, recognizing the unique characteristics and needs that each possess.  It is an outreach program that provides Museum programming in some of the downtown neighborhoods, visiting 22 different schools.  It’s in these schools, the Imaginators take on a slightly different role.  This is when the rock stars go to meet the public.

Eric J. Little has been with Connected Learning: Connected Communities (CLCC) since its inception, and he’s well-known to the children and staff at Hope Hill Elementary, in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward.  Once a month, “Mr. Eric” pays a visit to the kindergarten and pre-K students, bringing an ever-changing thirty minute program geared toward his very enthusiastic audiences.  They’ll often talk about literacy or basic science.  To tie in with our Sonic Sensation exhibit, this past April, the lesson was about sound.

Eric believes that his overall goal in the classroom is “building relationships that enhance the children’s learning experience because we make it fun.”  We can relate to Eric’s classroom experiences, as we constantly see this in the Museum, with young guests having so much fun that they don’t realize that they’re actually learning something!

Sharia Martin teaches pre-K at Hope Hill Elementary, and this was her first year experiencing the fun of CLCC.  She explained that “Mr. Eric” is a celebrity to her students, and that she found it hugely fun varying his entrances.  When he made his monthly appearances, she would sometimes surprise the students with his arrival, and sometimes build it up.  The results were the same: excited fans ready for a very fun change from the usual classroom routine.

Ms. Martin describes how “Mr. Eric” takes special care with reading to her students, being very participatory and outgoing, giving everybody a chance to contribute.  As we’ll also mention in next week’s chapter about the mayor’s reading program, literacy among children in this age can be improved by pausing to look at the words and helping young readers see the relationship between the words and pictures in a book.  We want to engage children’s curiosity about reading as early as possible, and keep them excited about reading after the school day ends.

The Imaginators are loudly welcomed by their fans at area schools.  At the beginning of April, we had the huge pleasure of joining some of the troupe at Hope Hill for the launch of our Ford Imaginator-Mobile. The students greeted “Mr. Eric” and his fellow Imaginators with a roar not heard since the Beatles landed at JFK in ’64.  Eric says that some of the children with whom he’s worked in our partner schools have asked for him when they have come to visit the Museum with their family.  Eric’s glad that he’s made such an impact that he has kids looking for him, but he’s most pleased when they tell their families and caregivers that he told them about sound, and got them excited about reading.

Sources: Science Daily, NPR