Galleries of Fun A Miniature Museum

Descriptor & Goals
Become your own art collector and create a miniature  museum or gallery of your favorites pieces.

Grades: Grade 3 - 6
Elements: space
Principles: unity
Child Outcomes: enjoying and appreciating
Life Skill: learning to learn, communicating
National Art Standard: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas

Activity Time: 1-2 hrs.

Preparation:
Time: 10 min.

Materials:

• A variety of small art pictures: printed off the internet or a program like With Open Eyes, cut out of magazines or postcards, or small original drawings
• Box
• Cardboard pieces or tagboard
• Scissors
• Glue
• Colored paper, wall paper 
• Drawing and paint supplies
• Paper and pencil

Setup:

• Read through the activity.

• Set out the supplies.

Background

It’s fun to collect favorite things. Museums and galleries are places where we can go to see many wonderful collections. The curators in the museums choose pieces they feel are important for the public to see. They must protect the pieces so that they will last for ages. And they put the pieces on display in such a way that we can see and learn for it without harming it.

Curators will design a pathway for us to follow so that we can see every piece without tripping over other people. They set up display panels and showcases around the rooms. Then docents lead people around the galleries telling them stories about the pieces.

Ready, Design, Print

1.  Cut out a collection (10-20 pieces) of favorite art pieces.

2. Mount each one on a piece of colored paper (like frames). You may want to decorate the frames.

3. Plan your gallery space; how you will have people walk around to see every piece. Using pieces of cardboard, create room dividers and display panels inside your box.

4. Cover the walls and floor with paint, colored paper or wallpaper.

5. Paste your collection on the walls of your museum.

6.  Make identification labels for each piece. Print the title and artist on a small piece of paper and paste under or beside the piece.

7. Paint the outside of the building. Create a sign with the name of your gallery or museum.

8. Write and print out a brochure that others can use to guide them through your collection or act as docent and guide others through it yourself.

Reflect

• What kind of art did you use in your collection? What do you like about the things you collected?

• What were some of the challenges you had as you constructed your gallery or museum?

• How did you make sure that each piece can be seen, yet protected? How are people able to” move” through your gallery?

Apply

• Visit a real museum or gallery. Talk to the curator. Ask how pieces are chosen and how they display them. Talk to a docent. Ask  how they help lead people through a gallery.

• Visit a virtual gallery at a museum on line. See how they lead people from gallery to gallery. See you they help you see pieces that you like a lot and how you can skip those you aren’t interested in.

Enhance

Visit these websites:

• Linotype – the largest type library at www.linotypelibrary.com. Look for Font of the week.

• See the work of contemporary calligraphers at www.calligraphicarts.org/gallery.html

Simplify

• Create a scrapbook of favorite images or original artwork.

• Make a special box for a collection of things, such as stones, toys, seeds, 3D artwork or coins.

Learning Indicators

The children:

• Designed a miniature museum with space to see all pieces and to imagine an easy walk through.

• Described the collection and why they chose it.