Click through the sections below to found out more about the programs the Learning + Engagement Department coordinates. For more information about additional programming, including outreach programs, contact Director of Learning + Engagement, Amanda Boehm-Garcia.
Learning + Engagement Programs
This spring families have options for our children’s story time: in person, online, or both! Join us at the museum on January 10, February 7, March 7, April 4, and May 2 for Art Adventures at 10:30 am. Enjoy a story and hands-on art activity in the classroom before exploring the galleries with a scavenger hunt. No registration is required for this free drop-in program.
Online classes will meet on January 24, February 21, March 21, April 18, and May 16 at 10:30 am. Just like the in-person program, Art Adventures at Home includes a book and related art activity, but we’ll use materials you are likely to have on hand. Register for this virtual program at the link below.
Both versions of Art Adventures are recommended for ages 3 to 8 accompanied by an adult, but kids of all ages are welcome. For more information, contact museumtours@ou.edu. Made possible by generous support from the Newman’s Own Foundation.
The museum’s creative writing program offers selected sixth-grade students from Norman’s four middle schools the opportunity to participate in workshops with award-winning writer and former Oklahoma poet laureate Nathan Brown. Students write poetry and short fiction. in response to works of art in the museum's permanent collection and special exhibitions. Each year, approximately 120 middle school students and their teachers benefit from this program, which has been made possible through generous support from the Harris Foundation since 2008.
The pARTner Project is a collaborative visual arts education program provided by the museum and Norman Public Schools. The program engages over 1,000 Norman Public School fourth grade students and their teachers in guided tours and hands-on art experiences at the museum throughout the school year. Since its inception in 1991, the program has been made possible through funding provided by the Oklahoma Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Oklahoma and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Since 2016, ArtEDGE has allowed selected seventh and eighth grade Norman Public Schools students to learn about innovation in art and technology through an interdisciplinary lens. Collaborating with Bizzell Library's Emerging Technology department and other OU academic departments such as visual art, architecture, and archaeology, the program includes exercises in critical thinking, communication, and teamwork.
