How do you use museums in your classroom??

There are different ways how you can use museums in your classroom.

You can visit a museum with your class.
When you visit a museum you have different options:

• You develop a handout yourself so your students have something to work on during their visit.
• You use a hand out developed by the museum
• You book a guided tour in the museum
• You book a workshop in the museum

After your visit you can use the things you have all learned in your classroom. Spend a lesson talking about it or create a piece of artwork that is influenced by something you have seen during your visit. Or maybe teach your students a technique they have seen like collage, printmaking, oil pastel, painting etc.

You invite an educator from the museum into your classroom.
Sometimes museums offer special programs/projects that take place in school settings. So if you don't have the chance to take your students to the museum you can let the museum come to you. For some schools it is hard to find the transportation possibilities or the money to visit a museum so this is a good alternative.

You lend an object from a museum and teach your students about it.
Some museums offer the possibility of lending objects from the museum or you get a teaching kit specially developed for using in your classroom. These kits have lesson examples in them and have extras information about the artifact that you can teach your students.

You can use museum resources for your lessons.
On most websites museums offer teachers resources. These can come in very handy when you need more information about some subject/painter/technique etc. The are being created for teachers to use so make use of them!

You can create your own museum in the classroom.
You divide the class into small groups and every group gets assigned a different role/task like: curators, exhibit designers, technicians, educators, graphic designers, production chief etc. You make an exhibit of work the students created or an exhibit with a theme.

Make use of a virtual museum tour.
Today some museums even offer virtual tours. This is very new way of visiting a museum but worth looking at.