HARVARD EXTENSION SCHOOL building an undergraduate community through communication
| Sackler Saturdays Burrows, a history of art concentrator, shares her experiences as a volunteer teacher of art at Harvard's Sackler Museum. by Valarie Roe Burrows, AA '96, ALB '04
Each Sackler Saturday, a different theme is developed from the permanent collection or from the temporary exhibits at the museum. The gallery activities are designed to introduce children to objects from ancient civilizations. The goal is to help children learn the basic techniques for looking closely at a work of art and to inspire connections to their own lives. Most important, they are given the opportunity to create their own art and tell their own stories about art objects. As a volunteer I have an opportunity to do research into the program's themes and I receive training in visual teaching strategies. In a recent program titled "Everyday Life in the Ancient World," children were invited into the galleries to learn what the ancients wore. Volunteers modeled costumes and children tried on saris from India, kimonos from Japan, hapi coats from China, and togas from ancient Greece, all of which they then modeled in front of full-length mirrors. At the art tables they made jewelry and mosaic mirrors based on the objects they saw in the temporary "Byzantine Women" exhibit. Children worked together on a large paper mosaic that they had begun at an earlier program on leadership in the ancient world titled "Gods and Goddesses, Kings and Queens."
Last year a program titled "Games, Music, and Theatre" was based on objects in the permanent collection that related to games, drama, and music. Such materials as the Sackler's collection of dice and knucklebones from ancient Rome were part of this program. Volunteers trained in theater techniques led small groups of children into the galleries to create living sculptures of works of art related to the theme. Music rang out in the galleries, and children played the same games the ancients played, such as knucklebones and the Royal Game of Ur. At art tables, children made their own knucklebones to take home. Some children and their parents went on a self-directed quest to find the Flying Apsaras of ancient China and India--small winged deities who play musical instruments. The rewards of being a Sackler Saturday volunteer are many. It gives me a chance to develop a relationship with the Harvard University Art Museums when I am not working and have available time. It's a great opportunity to rub shoulders with and learn from museum educators, museum docents, Harvard undergraduates, teachers, artists, art historians, and history majors. But most rewarding is the pleasure I receive from seeing children discover the art, objects, and lifestyles of the ancient world. It's exciting to see children introduce their parents and siblings to an object about which they just learned. Those who are interested in teaching, but are unsure about it, can explore this interest as a volunteer at the Sackler Museum. For more information about becoming a volunteer e-mail Lynne Stanton, coordinator of public education, Harvard University Art Museums. |
