Education at the Museum

Education at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center is central to our mission and part of our daily lives. We strive to engage the community and visitors of all ages in the arts. Here are some of the opportunities for learning for all ages through our changing exhibits, programs, workshops and outreach.

Workshops and Training

Please check back!

Visual Thinking Strategies Institute

July 6-8, 2011
9 a.m.-4 p.m., each day

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a powerful and exciting teaching methodology that aims to strengthen students’ literacy and critical-thinking skills through facilitated engagement with visual art. VTS is used to great effect with students of all ages, in schools and museums around the world, including Miami, San Francisco, and San Antonio pubic schools, and at the Harvard School of Medicine.

BMAC’s Visual Thinking Strategies Institute is a three-day course designed for K-12 classroom teachers, museum educators, and other professionals interested in learning how to incorporate VTS into their work. Under the guidance of certified VTS trainer Marlene Roeder and BMAC education curator Susan Calabria, Institute participants will learn about the research and theory behind VTS, practice facilitating VTS-based sessions involving fellow participants, and receive helpful written and electronic resource materials. The atmosphere will be stimulating, fun, and supportive. Prior knowledge of visual art is not required.

In order to ensure that every participant receives in-depth attention and extensive hands-on experience, registration is limited to a maximum of 20 participants.

Fee: $350; BMAC members, $315. To register, or to learn more, please contact BMAC education curator Susan Calabria at:

(802) 257-0124, ext. 102
education@brattleboromuseum.org

We will be happy to provide out-of-town participants with information on convenient downtown Brattleboro accommodations.

Educators may request certificates applicable toward professional development hours.

Marlene Roeder is an artist and educator who has worked in schools and museums over the last twenty-five years. She has extensive classroom experience as an elementary and middle school classroom teacher, art teacher and music teacher. She was formerly arts coordinator at Franklin Magnet School of the Arts, a Kennedy Center National School of Distinction. Roeder served as the associate curator of education and public programs at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, NY. Her work with the New York State Council on the Arts includes coordination of the CNY Regional Leadership and Learning Network, program audits, and facilitation of Strategic Foundation Building Retreats. She has facilitated large scale professional development initiatives in VTS and Stanford University’s Complex Instruction. She has spoken nationally and internationally on the importance of community partnerships in the arts. Currently, Marlene is regional director for Visual Understanding in Education, serving as liaison for schools and museums in the Eastern and Central United States.

Visit the Museum

- School/Museum Partnerships:

The Art & Literacy Connection
Head Start Arts Partnership

Students in the Art & Literacy Connection and in the Head Start Arts Partnership are welcome to visit the museum for free. Simply tell the gallery greeter that your child is part of one of these partnerships when you arrive!

- Docent-led tours and Curator tours - something for everyone, more information below
- Lectures and workshops - see the Museum calendar for details
- The Activity Gallery at BMAC - a place for all ages to view and make art!

Group Visits

All group visits must be arranged at least 2 weeks in advance with Education Curator Susan Calabria. Visits are confirmed based upon the Museum’s calendar and docent availability. To schedule a group visit, click here or call (802)-257-0124, extension 102.

VISIT OPTIONS:

Docent-led visits may be scheduled Monday through Friday from 9:30 to 11:30 or from 12:30 to 2:30. Other arrangements may be accommodated depending upon staff availability. Guided tours: Adults: $8 per person, Students: $5

Self-guided tours are welcome. Museum hours are 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. every day except Tuesday and Wednesday.
Self-guided tours: Adults-$6, Seniors-$4, Students-$3

All group tours for Brattleboro public schools are now free of charge.

Home-school groups are welcome.

Payment is made at the time of the visit. Check or cash are preferred.

Chaperones:

Ages 6 and younger: 1 chaperone for every 5 students
Ages 7 and older: 1 chaperone for every 8 students

Additional chaperones, $6 each.

Brattleboro Museum & Art Center participates in Gallery Walk, the first Friday of every month from May through February, 5:30-8:30 p.m., with free admission.

What can you expect?

At the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center we spend quality time with your students looking at art. Education staff and volunteer docents facilitate group discussions with selected works of art. Students find the museum experience accessible, fun, and become aware that art relates to their lives and personal experiences. During the museum visit, each student creates his or her own work of art based on a current exhibit. We look forward to welcoming you and your students!

Docents

A volunteer opportunity

Docents are volunteer museum interpreters trained in Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), a learner-centered method of finding meaning in visual art, developed by Philip Yenawine, former director of education at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and Dr. Abigail Housen, a Harvard-trained cognitive psychologist. For more information on VTS please contact the education staff at BMAC or explore the VTS website at www.vts.org. Those interested in being part of the docent team are invited to apply by contacting Susan Calabria, Education Curator at 802-257-0124, extension 102. Training is ongoing.