So Nice to Meet You at the NAEA in MN April 2009

I just had to take a moment to say how nice it was meeting you all at the National Art Education Conference in Minneapolis, MN this past April. I'm so grateful for having the opportunity to meet many teachers that I've had the pleasure of working with and feel as though I have made friends with around the country. Also, it was an awsome opportunity to meet so many art educators that haven't seen nor heard of Traveling Exhibits that were wowed. How Exciting!
The NAEA was a huge success and we were proud to be able to attend and represent Art Teacher's Discovery and Traveling Exhibits. See you in Boston next year.

ArtWise Hosts Traveling Exhibits for their Elementary Art Show in ND

Traveling Exhibits is proud to announce that we were a part of ArtWise's Really Big Elementary Art Show in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Check out our Fabulous Antoni Gaudi exhibit displayed near an architecture workshop. ArtWise seeks to give children an opportunity to explore their unique abilities through the visual arts; to foster self-esteem; to increase the community's awareness of, appreciation for, and participation in, the visual arts activities in Grand Forks.
Bravo ArtWise.

NAEA Here we Come............

Traveling Exhibits is proud to announce that we will be making our debut at the National Art Education Conference in Minneapolis, MN April 18 - 20. If you will be attending the conference, please stop by our booth and say hello. We've got a lot to share with you regarding our New Exhibit Share Programs, our Student Art Experience, Funding Ideas and how our Spectacular Exhibits have gifted Awe and Inspiration to Many! We will also have available for purchase our Activity Packs, Art Career Posters, Artist Quote Cling Sets and many more of our Art Teacher' s Discovery products to help teach the exhibit content along with some fun stuff to express your art inspired interests and tastes. I'll look forward to seeing you there.
Lisa ~ Your Traveling Exhibits Coordinator

Silent Reflections with Monet .......

Newton Razor's Elementary Art Teacher Kristen shared with me their Monet exhibit experience, This picture is of one of her first grade classes. She told me that she has no idea what prompted it but, her students spontaneously, in silent unison, dropped to their knees, It was amazing..... Here's also what Kristen had to say about Newton Razor's Monet exhibit experience.
Hello, Lisa! Here's how we experienced Monet...

I started teaching a Monet unit a couple of weeks before we received the exhibit. We focused on his waterlilies and we talked about French culture, geography, etc. (Our school is an International Baccalaureate candidate school, and one of our main focuses is teaching multiculturalism. All our Special Areas...Art, PE, Music...are highlighting one country each 6 weeks. This was France's turn. Of course, we study other countries in addition to those 6.)

When the exhibit arrived, we had already discussed the Impressionist movement and how it changed the art world, and we had started our own Monet-inspired paintings. One of the coolest things for the students was to see Monet's work up close to really get the effect of Impressionism. I spent the week taking all of my classes to our temporary Monet museum. We studied the exhibit up close first, then backed away to get the full effect. That really made an impact on my students! They had many questions about Monet, so we posted a "Wonder Wall" at the exhibit where we could post the kids' questions. (Inquiry based learning is a big thing at our school!) Their assignment was to see how many of the questions they could find answers for.

We also made posters thanking the PTA for sponsoring the exhibit, which we posted around school the week of the exhibit...this also served as an invitation for parents and visitors to enjoy the exhibit while we had it. We also posted some basic information about Monet by the exhibit in case my students weren't there to answer their questions.

That's about it. It was a vary meaningful experience for my students. We don't have any large museums in Denton, so for some of my students this was a first experience for them.

We're looking forward to hosting Diego Rivera the first week of May. We always have a big Cinco de Mayo celebration!

Thanks for your help,

Kristin

Hal & the Eco-Maniacs Encourage Us All to Be the Change, to Be Green

Hal Lederman and his Principal Dr. Joyce Raynor from SSDSEU aka Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex & Union in West Orange, NJ have set an exemplary example of Being the Change and Being Green to their students, staff and community. They host an annual Community Service Day at their school and this year our Global Warming Traveling Exhibit was a beautiful and informative addition to their program. Hal was kind enough to provide me with a photo album featuring lots of students working hard together, student artwork using recycled materials and many other activities. There are some really great ideas here that will insire you, your students and staff . http://picasaweb.google.com/hlederman/Jan212009# When I read Hal's email, I decided that he's definitely the one who should be telling you his story. So with that being said, here's Hal in his own words.

Normally I teach 11th grade U.S. history and a senior year economics elective. Growing up in New Jersey, my family and I started to recycle glass and aluminum in the 1960s. During my college days I became an avid backpacker and when I became a teacher, I often organized and participated in outdoor educational programs and clubs. Three years ago I was asked by our principal, Dr. Joyce Raynor, to form and advise a school-wide environmental program that would include a student club (we call ourselves the Eco-Maniacs). Dr. Raynor is so committed to the environment that she won't turn on the light in her office! With her support, we embarked on an aggressive campaign to "green" our school. Since the club's inception, we have achieved the following:

1. Put our trash hauling contract up for competitive bid and found a hauler who would also properly dispose of our recyclables, including paper, corrugated boxes, plastic, aluminum, glass, and steel cans at a cost savings of $9000 annually from that of a previous hauler,

2. Purchased individual classroom and office recycling containers for paper, co-mingled containers, and trash,

3. Developed a school-wide educational program on the proper disposal of school waste, including annual waste audits,

4. Through Rutgers University, instituted the purchase of multi-purpose paper with a recycled content of 30% post-consumer paper,

5. Introduced recycled facial tissue and bathroom paper,

5. Replaced standard cleaning products with green seal cleaners,

6. Replaced standard fluorescent tubes with energy efficient T-1 bulbs,

7. Purchase our electricity from a provider who uses renewable resources,

8. Instituted battery and computer recycling programs, and

9. Achieved Green Office certification.

Our goals for this year include:

1. Building an outdoor composting site and educating students about composting,

2. Replacing disposable utensils, paper plates, napkins, and Styrofoam cups with environmentally friendly products, and

3. Retiring Styrofoam trays, aluminum foil products, and chopsticks used by our food service.

Our school works closely with an organization called Green Flag Green Faith: http://www.greenfaith.org/

I hope that answers your questions. In March our history department takes the juniors to Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and New York's Lower East Side. Hopefully, I will be able to rent the Ellis Island traveling exhibit. Meanwhile, the Global Warming kits was phenomenal and many were disappointed when it was taken down.

I hope that sharing this inspirational story will encourage you to be the change in your school.
If your school is Green then lets hear about it. Inspired Minds Want to Know.
Lisa ~ Your Traveling Exhibits Coordinator

Teacher's Choice Awards, What's Your Vote?

I am so proud to tell you that our Vincent van Gogh and Ellis Island Traveling Exhibits are both winners of 2008 Teacher's Choice Awards. They are currently featured in Learning Magazine here's a link for a free copy and they have a great website too. This publication is a great tool to have when planning for your funding, whether you're writing grant proposals, contacting local business owners, or art and education foundations. Just a little FYI, there.
On another note,
The Teacher's Choice Awards are coming soon, I'm thinking that we should definitely submit the M.C. Escher Traveling Exhibit. What do you think? You are hosting these exhibits, which are your favorites? I'll look forward to your comments.

Traveling Exhibits visits Harbor Beach, Michigan

For my very first blog I have to tell you about a road trip that I had last Spring. A visit with Spanish Teacher Jon Fruytier at Harbor Beach Community School while they were hosting their finale of a nine exhibit experience with the Vincent van Gogh Traveling Exhibit in May of 2008. Harbor Beach, Michigan is a quaint, small town in the tip of the thumb on Lake Huron. With that being said, too far for a museum field trip to the DIA in Detroit. Jon was inspired, came up with a plan and has brought the museum experience into his home town via Fed Ex. Jon has been hosting the exhibits in his school for the last two years now, with 10 reserved for this year.
"How has he done this?" you ask. First, by giving local business owners the opportunity to fund the exhibits for their community school. He was inspired by our exhibits so much that he stepped out of the box and approached the local vet and rotary club for funding and that's how it started. He expressed the need and importance of the exhibit experience for his students and his community. And second, by using our press kits that we provide for the exhibits. Jon contacted the local papers and radio stations; which did a fabulous job publicizing the Traveling Exhibits and their sponsors. Jon has hosted field trips for schools in nearby districts and has also opened up the school to the public during certain hours of the day to view the exhibits.
In my exhibits road trip I was able to experience just what an impact the Traveling Exhibits have on students of all ages. It was obvious that these kids have been learning from this larger than life size exhibit and retaining the information. Kindergartners to upper level students where raising their hands with excitement to answer questions about Vincent van Gogh and his artwork and took pride in telling their interpretations on the pieces of art. They enjoyed teaching me about van Gogh. I was also able to see how our free download materials that we offer such as the Did You Know posters are displayed and can be useful tools in making art personal and more interesting with trivia and fun facts, provoking the hmm factor...
I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to see first hand the Traveling Exhibit Experience and to work along side such dedicated educators like Jon Fruytier and so many of you reading this blog. If you'd like to read more about Jon Fruytier and Harbor Beach, MI here are some links to just a couple of his press releases.
http://www.michigansthumb.com/articles/2008/11/10/news/features/doc49185c56821fc919204668.txt

http://www.michigansthumb.com/articles/2008/11/10/news/features/doc49185c56821fc919204668.txt