Museum education

Recently our class lectures, discussions, and readings have focused on the significance of material objects in life and in museums. We explored this topic in depth when we each created a personal “shoebox” exhibit, meant to accurately illustrate who we are. As soon as I began thinking about what objects constitute me, I felt overwhelmed. What could I possibly fit into one small shoebox that sums up all of me? I ended up putting tons of small items in my box, like an acorn to show how much I love…

can meddle up an art history timeline if a statue is not properly dated to the correct era. This is case the regarding the Piombino Apollo, a statue found at sea in 1832 with a complex history of study where it eventually made its way to the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. The statue looks extremely archaic, like a kouros, but some more advanced stylistic evidence on the statue contradict the earlier claim regarding an archaic date and places it in a later Hellenistic one. The…

Museums worldwide face the moral dilemma of what to showcase in their collections. Some governments and citizens have questioned the legitimacy of the entitlement to some ancient artifacts that were taken during circumstances like war. Countries have requested cultural repatriation of their artistic works. Cultural repatriation is the return of cultural relics that have been taken from their homeland. Items from around the world, such as Rome, Scotland, and Africa have faced this difficult…

LEARNING TALK” IN MUSEUMS Joint attention—when people are focused on the same object or subject in their surroundings—is a critical component of language and communication learning for infants and children. Museums, specifically, offer visitors opportunities for free choice learning, but can also be very stimulating, with multiple options competing for visitors’ attention. However, there is no research addressing the role that joint attention can play in family learning talk in museums. In…

I chose Belk Library of Appalachian State University for my ethnography project. The reason that I pick library for this project was that I knew everyday men, women, children, elder, and people of different nation came to this place for studying, relaxing, or for some other reasons. Therefore, I thought by choosing library, I would have an opportunity to observe the behaviors of people of different genders, ages, and nation of this culture. It was a great experience working as a cultural…

many institutions, public interest has its rise and fall. Within the world of history, living history museums, often unwilling or unsure of how to adapt in order to maintain relevancy and intrigue, find themselves in a difficult position. The issue of trying to evolve while creating enough of a revenue to support projects that will hold a long-term engagement with the public is where many museums struggle. While others are too set in their ways to feel the need to change their aging…

When people walk into the San Jose Museum of Art, they immediately receive a warm welcomed by a lovely receptionist. After showing them a form of identification, such as a SJSU student ID card, and paying a 6 dollar entry fee, they provide a copy of the museum's layout in case people get lost in their spacious building. If people ask nicely, the receptionist is willing to enlighten them about the museum's exhibits. Among the various exhibits in the San Jose Museum of Art, the exhibit Covert…

Established in 1941, the Norton Museum of Art holds 7,000 pieces in which features three main regions of art; American, Chinese, and European. Located in West Palm Beach Florida, this museum holds all forms of art work from paintings to sculptures to even ancient Chinese artifacts. The building was separated into three different levels each with their own unique layout to best exemplify the culture from which the artwork originated from. Starting with the first level, loud, cluttered yet…

Kehinde Wiley Exhibition I attended the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to observe Kehinde Wiley’s show. Kehinde Wileys art exhibition the “A New Republic” was an outstanding collection where he recreated paintings in the 21st century emphasizing race, gender and the political stance of representation. He wanted to create a space for African Americans in history. In the exhibit included “The Economy of Grace” series from his earlier works featuring men and women with detailed backgrounds, stained…

and history. I got to experience places that I have been waiting my whole life to see. Upon reflecting on the study-at-large as a whole, I think the most educational experiences I had were at the Museum of Modern Art, the United Nations, and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. I was so excited to visit the Museum of Modern Art. It held some of my favorite works from some of my favorite visual artists. I had taken four years of art in middle school and high school, so I have a fundamental understanding…