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Through educational
outreach, the museum education team shares its expertise in
using museum exhibits and artwork in conjunction with children’s
literature and everyday objects to teach young children. SEEC
offers information about its museum-based approach to learning
through seminars and professional training classes, written
materials, teaching kits, and customized consulting.
Overview of SEEC
Seminars:
Learning
Through Objects: Museums and Young Children
During this two-day program,
participants learn how museum objects, such as paintings,
sculptures, an African headrest, and an old-time chestnut
roaster, can help children as young as two or three understand
their world. The program features hands-on exercises with
museum objects, lectures, discussions, and gallery experiences
that introduce early childhood educators to the magic of museums
and help museum educators forge more creative encounters with
the youngest museum-goers.
Creating
Collections with Young Children
Participants learn about children as natural collectors and
discover new ways to nurture this innate curiosity by creating
collections in the classroom that combine literature, art, and
objects. Through hands-on experiences and museum visits, this
one-day seminar introduces teaching strategies that encourage
the use of collections to help children develop sorting,
classification, observation, and analytic skills. Teachers
learn to present new opportunities for children to explore the
world through real objects and create meaningful collections in
the classroom. This one-day workshop is an excellent
introduction to the magic of museums
Professional Development Series
Museum
Magic: Museum-Based Approach to Teaching
History, Math, and Literacy to Young Children
This four-part series
introduces educators to SEEC’s method of teaching through actual
museum visits and encounters with real objects, children’s
literature, and art. In this course, participants learn to plan
effective museum visits and classroom-based lessons to support
learning in content areas such as literacy, math, and history.
Customized Consulting
SEEC offers consulting that
is customized to each client’s needs. SEEC works with a wide
range of organizations, from museums planning early childhood
initiatives to community-based organizations seeking expertise
in early childhood learning. Consultants from SEEC also support
schools interested in implementing more effective field trips or
districts seeking an arts-based or object-based approach to
learning in their curriculum. We offer a wide variety of
services that are customized to fit the needs of organizations
interested in teaching young children in the museum environment
or using museum-based methodology.
Customized consulting may
include:
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Licensing
of the SEEC curriculum, Museum Magic
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Conceptual
planning and analysis for the development of new programs
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Docent
training
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Museum
program development
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Development
of thematic resource kits
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Professional development for museum educators
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Customized
lesson plans
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Field trips
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Model
lessons with a SEEC master teacher
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Teacher
training or in-service training (early childhood and
elementary school levels)
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Exhibit
evaluation (from the point of view of preschool children)
Costs are determined
by the scope of the project. For more information
on SEEC’s consulting services, please contact Sharon
Shaffer, Executive Director, at 202.633.1399/shaffers@si.edu.
Customized Thematic Resource Kits
Teaching Kits:
Packaged in an
easy-to-handle art portfolio, each teaching kit includes a
variety of materials necessary for a successful lesson employing
SEEC’s museum-based philosophy. Each kit contains art prints,
children’s literature, and objects along with lesson plans
appropriate for the classroom or museum.
A World of Lines
A World of Lines
starts with a children’s classic in literature, Harold and
the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. Children explore the
many types of lines that make up the world through simple
objects such as yarn, string, and pipe cleaners. Reproductions
of art works by such artists as Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso,
Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, and Wayne
Thiebaud broaden the exploration. Lesson plans are included
with language, science, music, and motor activities as well as
extensive art enrichment activities.
The
Rainforest
This ecology-based kit
provides a unique look at a popular subject. Lynne Cherry’s
The Great Kapok Tree provides an emotional connection to
this unique environment. Children explore artists’ perspectives
on the rainforest by investigating the work of such artists as
Henri Rousseau, Martin Johnson Heade, Frederick Edwin Church,
and Frank Stella. Simple objects such as artificial fern leaves
offer multi-sensory experiences that make the rainforest
environment come alive for children. Lesson plans are included
with language, science, music, and motor activities as well as
extensive art enrichment activities.
To order A World of Lines
or The Rainforest, visit our
Store to place an order
For more information
on customizing a thematic resource kit, please call
Sharon Shaffer, Executive Director, at 202.633.1399
or by sending an e-mail to shaffers@si.edu.
Licensing of
Curriculum
Museum Magic
is a unique museum-based curriculum that serves as the
foundation for the SEEC program. Through licensing, Museum
Magic can offer a framework for museums or schools
developing a new object-based or arts-based program for young
children. It is also possible for SEEC to design resource
materials to support a new educational initiative.
For more information
on licensing SEEC Curriculum, please contact Sharon
Shaffer, Executive Director, at 202.633.1399 or by
sending an e-mail to shaffers@si.edu.
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