We feel strongly that of our several core constituencies, none is more important than children and their families. And, in these times, children and their families need art to be more than an attractive object to be observed they need art to be a catalyst for learning and connectivity. Art can help children communicate, expand their understanding of the world around them, and enhance their problem solving skills. Art can also be used as a powerful educational tool utilizing visual learning strategies to help teach everything from algebra to the social sciences.
The FWMoA School Tour program highlights and educates students in all grade levels using the artwork on display in our galleries. This program continues to be the cornerstone of our service to students. Student groups and their teachers are guided through the galleries on customized tours that correlate with Indiana curricular standards developed by our Education Team and delivered by highly trained docent educators to 8,000 students each year.
Each tour consists of two elements: orientation, which teaches the vocabulary, concepts, and share expectations for what's about to be seen in the galleries, and a guided, interactive tour through the gallery space. All tours are scripted
and docent led to ensure they meet Indiana Academic Standards and use
cross-curricular teaching methods.
Schedule A Tour
In an effort to ease the scheduling process, please contact Joslyn Elliott to schedule a school tour or click here to fill out our online application Once we receive your request and check our schedule for availability, we will contact you via your preferred method of contact to confirm your request.
School tours are scheduled on a first come, first served basis. To increase the possibility of getting the date and time you want, please schedule as soon as possible. When scheduling we ask you do so at least 2-3 weeks prior to your desired tour date and time.
For answers to questions you do not find here, contact Joslyn Elliott, Associate Director of Children's Education, at (260) 422-6467 ext. 319 or elliott@fwmoa.org.
Gallery on Wheels is a unique outreach program which brings original and reproduced art into the classrooms of Northeast Indiana. The exhibits, each with a different focus, provide relevant, topic based visuals that enhance classroom curriculum.
In a time of shrinking education budgets, Gallery on Wheels provides a way for students to interact with and learn from art, and it is often a student's first experience of original art and their first connection to the Museum. All collections and presentations adhere to Indiana Academic and Common Core Standards, with connections made to art, social studies, and science. Students learn about the makers of the artwork - their motivations, struggles, and their search for creative solutions to the challenges they faced seeking success. For teachers, the Gallery on Wheels experience augments their ongoing effort to provide students with a holistic education.
Gallery on Wheels is an Outreach Program that offers curated content designed to foster cross-curricular discussions and hands-on activities in the classroom. These collections are created and presented by the Fort Wayne Museum of Art Education Department and can be tailored to fit your needs.
Thanks to generous support from donors and private foundations, Gallery on Wheels is a free resource for schools, teachers, and students in Northeast Indiana.
Schedule Gallery on Wheels
In an effort to ease the scheduling process, please complete the form below to request a Gallery on Wheels presentation. Once we receive your request and check our schedule for availability, we will contact you via your preferred method of contact to confirm your request.
Gallery on Wheels is scheduled on a first come, first served basis. To increase the possibility of getting the date and time you want, please schedule as soon as possible. When scheduling we ask you do so at least 2-3 weeks prior to your desired tour date and time.
Click Here to Begin the Gallery on Wheels Scheduling Process
For answers to questions you do not find here, contact Joslyn Elliott, Assistant Curator of Education, at (260) 422-6467 ext. 319 or elliott@fwmoa.org.
The Fort Wayne Museum of Art Scholastic Program, which features the Art & Writing Awards competition, continues to gain momentum. The FWMoA Program is one of only 26 Scholastic Programs in the country to offer the full Art and Writing Program and our region has grown to include 52 counties in Indiana and Ohio. Year after year, the winning students in our program go on to win numerous national awards. In the process of receiving national recognition, our young artists join the ranks of many celebrated American artists and writers which includes luminaries such as Richard Avedon, Andy Warhol, Bernard Malamud, Robert Redford, Sylvia Plath , Joyce Carol Oates, Luis Jiminez, and Truman Capote, among others.
The FWMoA Art Club is a group of teens who want to think bigger and bolder through their ideas about art and creativity by being part of a community of highly talented and motivated teens from across our region.
The Art Club uses Group Dynamics, which allows the students to share their deep interest for the arts with like minds, use each other as a resource for brainstorming ways to improve their work, and it also raises the expectation of every student's capabilities. The Fort Wayne Museum of Art leads the group by exposing students to contemporary art, presenting sketchbook assignments, and giving students feedback on their which work, all of which has greatly increased Art Club members' success with not only the National Scholastic program, but also in garnering college scholarships.
The Art Club
is open to any Middle or High School interested in the visual arts, and
the Club meets monthly while school is in session.
Visit the Art Club Facebook Page to get connected with the Club.
To join the Art Club, email Max Meyer at meyer@fwmoa.org .
ART CLUB MEETINGS AND EVENTS
The Art Club meets regularly throughout the academic year and will resume again Fall 2013. Please check here or on our events calendar for the next Art Club event.
Video Game Design After School Program
The Video Game Design After School Program teaches both students and teachers how to design playable video games using a simple online platform. The after school program leverages students' interest in video games while integrating 21stcentury skill including Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills, Communication Skills, Creativity and Innovation Skills, Collaboration Skills, Information and Media Literacy Skills, Contextual Learning Skills.
These skills are essential part of STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art and Mathematics) and the Fort Wayne Museum of Art Video Games Design program can modernize teachers' curricula. This program accomplishes this in a fun, interactive, accessible, and cost effect manner. This FWMoA program in particular is focused on accessibility, and our staff takes the lead to work with teachers on ways to integrate the program into their curriculum in the future. Email Max Meyer at meyer@fwmoa.org to learn more about participating in this unique program.
Early Learning at FWMoA
The Early Learning Center - Coming Fall 2013
Visual literacy at any age is key to thriving in our society, and in the earliest stages of life, the importance of developing visual literacy directly relates to the primal need for self-expression. As language skills develop, so too does the impulse to express and relate to the world around each child.
For these reasons, the FWMoA Education Department is in the midst of developing the first art-focused Early Learning Center designed around the stages of childhood development in a fun, interactive, and hands-on environment. We are building the optimal early learning environment to foster self-expression in the earliest learning stages for the benefit of building on these experiences prior to children's entry into the K-12 system.
The Center will include a Draw area with a Self Identity Gallery, a 20’ by 8’ whiteboard drawing wall, and a Magnetic Tree Gallery for displaying drawings. A Build area will encourage gross motor skills, a Learn area will utilize age-appropriate digital media showing artists creating work, and a Read area will promote Visual Literacy and reading.
The Center will function as a classroom, family activity area, and can be combined with a tour of the museum galleries. The Early Learning Center at FWMoA will open Fall 2013.
Museums by Mail
Museums by Mail, a unique classroom exhibit conveniently transportable and accessible to educators, have been specifically redesigned with Early Learners and their caregivers in mind. Each exhibit can be checked out by Educators for up to 3 weeks. Exhibits are complete with didactic labels, discussion points and five to twelve mounted and sealed prints. The exhibits are designed to be additions to the classroom to create new and dynamic talking points and projects. Contact Joslyn Elliott at elliott@fwmoa.org to learn more.
Arts Elevated is an Educational Blog focused on highlighting careers from the diverse world of the Visual Arts. The blog features interviews by both national renowned artists and talented regional artists who have carved their own niche in the visual arts world. These interviews explore each artist’s beginnings, current work, process and both past and present influences.