Activity-Based Teaching in the Art Museum: Movement, Embodiment, Emotion

This groundbreaking book explores why and how to encourage physical and sensory engagement with works of art.

An essential resource for museum professionals, teachers, and students, the award winning Teaching in the Art Museum (Getty Publications, 2011) set a new standard in the field of gallery education. This follow-up book blends theory and practice to help educators–from teachers and docents to curators and parents–create meaningful interpretive activities for children and adults.

Written by a team of veteran museum educators, Activity-Based Teaching in the Art Museum offers diverse perspectives on embodiment, emotions, empathy, and mindfulness to inspire imaginative, spontaneous interactions that are firmly grounded in history and theory. The authors begin by surveying the emergence of activity-based teaching in the 1960s and 1970s and move on to articulate a theory of play as the cornerstone of their innovative methodology. The volume is replete with sidebars describing activities facilitated with museum visitors of all ages.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I History

1 The Modern History of Presence and Meaning

A philosophical shift from a language-based understanding of the world to direct, physical interaction with it.

2 A New Age in Museum Education: The 1960s and 1970s

A brief history of some of the innovative museum education programs developed in the United States in the late 1960s and 1970s. The sudden and widespread adoption of nondiscursive gallery activities during this period, especially but not exclusively in programs designed for younger students and school groups, expressed the spirit of the times.

Part II Theory

3 Starts and Stops

Two attempts by American