Back to School: Student and Teacher Programs By the Numbers

Even though it’s still warm outside, it seems like fall now that school has started. Those of us in the Teaching Programs and Partnerships department spent our summer vacation getting ready for the 2011-2012 school year. We were busy planning for tours, Go van Gogh outreach programs, and teacher workshops that relate to the DMA’s collection, as well as our upcoming special exhibitions. We thought it might be fun to share with you a “by-the-numbers” look at the different programs we offer for students and teachers.

66,661—Number of K-12 students from the DFW Metroplex who had a DMA experience (museum visit, Go van Gogh program, or special partnership) during the 2010-2011 school year

51,166 – Number of views accumulated thus far since launching the DMA Educator Blog in September 2009

Museum Visits

48,327—Number of K-12 students who received a docent-guided or self-guided tour of the DMA in 2010-2011

3,917—Number of higher education students who visited the DMA for a tour during the 2010-2011 school year

12,568—Number of Dallas ISD 4th graders who will visit the DMA this year for docent-guided tours

34—Weeks available to schedule a tour for your students

119—Number of docents who will give tours during the 2011-2012 school year

24—Number of Teen Docents who volunteered at the DMA this past summer

Go van Gogh Classroom Outreach

8,236 – Number of students in Dallas who experienced a Go van Gogh program in 2010-2011

32 – Go van Gogh visits to Dallas Public Libraries during summer 2011

128 – Days available to schedule Go van Gogh visits during 2011-2012

10 – Satellite and Site-Specific Go van Gogh programs in 2011-2012, including schools in Richardson, McKinney, and Waxahachie

40 – Number of Go van Gogh volunteers in 2011-2012

14,779 – Miles on the Go van Gogh van

Programs for Teachers

34 – Number of online teaching material units available FREE on the DMA website

578 – Number of teachers who participated in professional development sessions at the DMA during summer 2011

3.5 – Number of CPE credit hours teachers will receive for attending one of seven teacher workshops this year

$5 – Price of admission (half off) for teachers attending the September 16 Late Night

1 – Number of nights each week that teachers receive free admission. Show your school ID between 5:00 and 9:00 p.m. on Thursday nights and gaze at art free!

$40 – Price of a teacher membership, which provides free admission and parking for you as well as discounts on shopping, dining, and attending teacher workshops!

All of our programs will officially begin the week of September 19, and we are currently accepting reservations for the 2011-2012 school year.  We look forward to welcoming you and your students to the Museum soon!

Shannon Karol is the Manager of Docent Programs and Gallery Teaching.

Encountering Space in the New C3

Amy Copeland is the Coordinator of the Museum’s Go van Gogh outreach program to local elementary schools and a frequent blogger on the DMA Educator Blog. She has graciously agreed to share some of her experiences with the new exhibition in our Center for Creative Connections, aka C3. Last Saturday, more than 3,000 visitors helped us celebrate the opening of Encountering Space in the completely reconfigured C3 on National Museum Day. Stop by during Art in October, a monthlong celebration of the Dallas Arts District, for a chance to experience Encountering Space for yourself.

And now, here’s Amy . . .

One of my favorite things to do is poke around the Museum when exhibitions are being installed. I like seeing the bare walls pre-installation, and then watching as they get painted, and the vitrines begin to appear in the galleries, and objects are brought into the space, bringing it to life. I usually only catch glimpses of this process, but I’ve had a fun last few weeks walking through the Center for Creative Connections every day during the construction of the new Encountering Space exhibition. (My office is at the back of the space–lucky me!)

Below are pictures from the installation and a few from the opening day celebration last Saturday. They show just a fraction of this incredibly dynamic space, so I hope you’ll come explore it for yourself.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Amy Copeland is the Coordinator of the Dallas Museum Art’s Go van Gogh outreach program

Big Yellow Bus

School is officially back in session. As the big, yellow buses begin to pull up on Harwood Street later this month, a flurry of young feet will file out, pass by a large fountain, and ultimately find themselves standing before the likes of Jackson Pollock’s Cathedral, Frederic Church’s The Icebergs, or a huge sculpture of the Mixtec rain god Tlaloc. These works of art and thousands of others become the stuff museum memories are made of for over 60,000 students in grades K-12 who visit the Dallas Museum of Art each year. Another 17,000 students annually experience the Museum’s treasures through our Go van Gogh® classroom outreach programs and through an after-school program created in partnership with Thriving Minds and managed by the nonprofit Big Thought.

During the 2010-2011 school year, hundreds of teachers will participate in professional development sessions, visit the Educator Blog, access online resources, and partner with DMA museum educators to create unique, in-depth experiences for their students.

And our galleries will soon fill with the buzz of young minds and voices actively learning. This is how my colleagues and I who work in the Department of Teaching Programs and Partnerships like it. We are a passionate team of seven staff memers, two interns, and nearly two hundred volunteers, and we welcome students and teachers with the belief that art is essential to all of our lives. The Dallas Museum of Art is a place to imagine, to explore, and to form personal connections with works of art from around the world and throughout time.

Nicole Stutzman is the Director of Teaching Programs and Partnerships.