Kids and Family Activities
Inside the Outreach Collection
Want to learn more about the Figge's outreach collection? Join host and Figge Outreach Educator Kelsey Vandercoy for the YouTube web series, Inside the Outreach Collection. These videos explore the Figge's educational objects. Click link below.
Big Picture In the House From Summer 2020
The Figge held five weeks of virtual FREE programming for the Big Picture in the House series during the summer of 2020. Sessions were streamed live from the museum and can be accessed below for your viewing pleasure.
- Summer 2020 Week 1 - Seen and Heard: The Art of Empowerment - View Video Lesson Here
- Summer 2020 Week 2 - Didier William: Lakou - View Video Lesson Here
- Summer 2020 Week 3 - About Face - View Video Lesson Here
- Summer 2020 Week 4 - Magnetic West - View Video Lesson Here
- Summer 2020 Week 5 - African Masks - View Video Lesson Here
Fun Activities for Kids and Families
Share your completed activities on social media by using #FiggeVirtualMuseum
Figge Building Coloring Page
Dress Grant Wood and Color River of Life
Explorer Series: Grant Wood
Explorer Series: Haitian Art
Follow Along Activities
Activity 1 - Learn to Print like Warhol!
Inspired by Andy Warhol's colorful pop art prints, we decided to make our own! A simple way to do print making at home, without the mess. Tag us on Instagram @figgeartmuseum and show us your creations!
Materials Needed:
-white paper
-Crayola or any brand washable markers
-baby wipes (substitute: paper towel & spray bottle of water)
-mini styrofoam plates
-pencils and erasers (careful! pencil won't erase off of the plate, take your time)
Activity 2 - Make Your Own Half Moon
Inspired by the Figge’s beloved Half Moon by artist Deborah Butterfield, get in touch with your inner sculptor to build a mini horse. Deborah Butterfield is known for her horses made from found objects: from sticks and mud to sheet metal; get creative and look around your house for materials you can use too.
Materials:
-aluminum foil
-various materials to form the horse (suggestions: sticks & leaves, pipe cleaners, clay, buttons, scrap paper)
-regular Elmer’s glue
-scissors
Activity 3 - Making New House
Highlighting another great woman artist from our collection, we introduce Doris Lee and her work New House. New House is based off the construction of Lee and her husband’s home in New York, but presented in a naïve and quirky style of the everyday life.
Materials:
-large piece of paper (we used 12x18)
-various scraps of materials (paper, fabric, scrapbook pages, magazines, old photos – anything that can be glued down)
-glue
-scissors
-crayons, markers, or color pencils (to decorate background)
Activity 4 - Making Grant Wood
The father of regional art, Grant Wood is a true treasure at the Figge Art Museum. We have several of his pieces and personal objects at the museum as he was a resident of our area. Grant Wood is always a favorite among our guests, we hope you can come see him too!
Materials:
-paper
-objects for texture (experiment: don’t be afraid to try anything, if it doesn’t work, try something else!)
-crayons (you can try different art supplies, but we found crayons work the best)
-pencil & eraser (to do the sketching)
Activity 5 - Making Fire & Water
A crowd favorite, Fire and Water greets our visitors as they enter the museum. This colorful piece was created by Japanese-American artist, Yuriko Yamaguchi, whose sculptures represent the binding of nature and technology. Fire and Water was composed of hand cast, resin pieces that have the appearance of dried mushrooms, affixed with stainless steel wire. The blue and the red represent the duality of fire and water in our lives.
Materials:
-paper (thicker paper helps so the water doesn’t soak through)
-watercolors
-sponges (cut up into smaller pieces)
-cup of water
*Bonus Supplies: try dipping other materials in the paint to get different textures
Activity 6 - Making Moon Zag III
Crafted out of painted wood, Moon Zag III is another Figge piece that’s hard to miss, and sits across from another artwork previously covered on this channel: Half Moon by Deborah Butterfield.
Materials:
-paper & pencil (if you would like to do a sketch)
-various objects around the house to build your assemblage
*You do not have to adhere the objects together, keep them loose! That way you can keep moving the pieces around into different configurations
Activity 7 - Making Lee Krasner Prints
It’s women in the arts time once again! This week, the Figge is featuring Lee Krasner, an American artist from New York. Her style can be described as “abstract expressionism” and shows itself in the form of print making. Krasner has many different styles of her prints, but today we are focused on her Primary Series of three works: Blue, Gold, and Pink. Happy art making!
Materials:
-paper (thicker paper that can hold the weight of paint)
-paint or ink (try different types of colors!)
-brushes, or other items to spread paint
-an object for smoothing (or could use your hand as well)
Activity 8 - Making a Haitian Jungle Scene
One of the largest collections in the museum, our colorful Haitian art always draws crowds together. From markets, voodoo Gods and Goddesses, or wild animals, Haitian art delights crowds with a cocktail of history, religion, fantasy, and so much more. This collection, much like Grant Wood, has a special place in our hearts and is unlike anything else in the museum. We hope you get a chance to see it in person soon!
*One of our most recent exhibitions is by Haitian artist, Didier William, learn more here: https://figgeartmuseum.org/art/exhibitions/view/didier-william-lakou/186
Materials:
-paper
-cut outs of animals: search everywhere! Magazines, old photos, postcards, wrapping paper, wherever you see animals, or can draw your own!
-material to color the background (we used oil pastels, but crayons or markers work well too)
-glue and scissors
-inspiration! Look up pictures of jungles in places around the world; where do you want your animals to live?
Watercolor Ice Cream Cone Activity:
Big Picture in My House
Our outreach educators bring you this fun video series adapting our popular arts education outreach program for you to enjoy at home. Listen a brief art lesson followed by an easy art activity to do together with your child. For questions on a session, email Laura at lwriedt@figgeartmuseum.org
Session 1 - The Perfect Square
Session 2 - The Noisy Paint Box
Session 3 - Big Orange Splot
Session 4 - Grant Wood
Session 5 - Yayoi Kusama
Session 6 - Sky Color
Session 7 - Scribble Art
2020 Brand Boeshaar Scholarship Recipients
Educational Resources
Great for teachers and parents alike!
Elementary Students
Cassie Stephens
Our Outreach Educator's top pick for art resources. Cassie's content is often used to enhance our own educator's lessons. She is an art educator from Nashville, TN and has an amazingly FUN way of teaching art to students.
Cassie Stephens Blog
Cassie Stephens YouTube Channel
LUNCH DOODLES with Mo Willems!
Many are familiar with Mo Willems and the Don’t Let the Pigeon Series. The Kennedy Center for the Arts brings us this sponsored a series in response to COVID-19.
Kennedy Center: Mo Willems
Mo Willems: Lunch Doodles YouTube Series
Deep Space Sparkle
Patty Palmer is another educator who has a lot of lessons based on art and visual literacy. She prepared an Emergency Sparkle Kit for remote learning. Go to the link and scroll down to sign up for the packet on the Deep Space Sparkle website.
Deep Space Sparkle Website
Deep Space Sparkle YouTube
Art Projects for Kids
This resource provides great “How to Draw” step by step. Great activity for keeping the kids creating and busy.
Middle School Students
Boca Raton Museum of Art
The Lesson Plans offered by the Boca Raton Museum of Art encourage educators to teach art analysis, as well as incorporate art into language arts, math, and creative writing. This is a fun way to encourage students and kids to think about art from new perspectives. Below is a link to the Lesson Plans menu and an example of a Lesson Plan.
Boca Raton Museum of Art: Lesson Plan Listing
Example Lesson Plan: Kuhn Young Woman
National Gallery of Art
These lesson plans are like those offered by the Boca Raton Museum of Art; however, they are categorized by art and subject. Each lesson contains warm-up questions and discussions, class activities, and additional downloadable content for both children and adults. The lessons promote critical thinking and encourage students to have constructive discussions with their peers.
National Gallery of Art: Lesson Plan Listing
Example Lesson Plan: Uncovering America
TED Ed
TED Ed provides educators with a series of engaging, fun videos about visual arts and literature. There are also other video categories, such as math, science, history, etc., which can be accessed from a Subjects drop-down menu. The videos average between three-to-five minutes long, and have four learning steps: Watch, Think, Dig Deeper, Discuss. As students watch the videos, they are encouraged to think critically about the content and respond to quizzes and open discussion questions.
TED Ed: Visual Arts
Example Lesson Plan: Frida Kahlo
Art to Remember
Art to Remember offers free, simple art projects for students. What is great about this resource is that educators can filter topics, grade levels, and media types to find what art projects work best for their students, teaching style, and material access. Each lesson incorporates other concepts, such as math, geography, and science, so students can learn more as they play and create art. Even better, many of the projects incorporate every-day items you may already have at home.
Art to Remember: Lesson Plan Listing
Example Lesson Plan: Mystery Pattern
High School Students
PBS Learning Media
This extension of PBS offers online lesson plans and supplemental videos, interactives, documents, and galleries for all grade levels—including 9-12. In the Arts section, you will find materials that focus on visual art, music, art history, dance, and more—all designed to bolster higher education art classes. The additional interactives keep students engaged and allow them to have fun while learning. The site is also compatible with Google Classroom.
PBS Learning Media - High School
Example Lesson Video
J. Paul Getty Museum
The Getty offers art-focused lesson plans with supplementary videos, activities, and documents so educators can customize the classroom experience. Each lesson is designed to enhance art and art historical knowledge, and complement other subjects, like English, literature, science, and math. The lesson questions encourage students to think critically and participate in discussions with their peers. Art and writing activities encourage active learning and creativity, allowing students to directly apply what they have learned in class.
The Getty Education Guides
Example Lesson Plan
Kinder Art
This website offers dozens of free art lessons for educators and students. Each lesson is designed or can be adapted for at-home learning, and they can supplement lessons already taught in class. For example, if students are learning about art fundamentals, such as line, the Blind Contour Drawing exercise lets students practice and understand line-making. Many of the available lessons require materials that are easily found at home, so safety is ensured for both students and educators. Below is a link to the art lessons list and the Blind Contour Drawing example.
Kinder Art - Art Lessons
Example Lesson Plan: Blind Contour Drawing
Art History Teaching Resources
This resource is great for higher-education art and art history instructors—particularly anyone teaching AP classes. Selecting, “Lesson Plans,” from the top drop-down menu will introduce educators to a variety of lesson plans categorized as Survey 1, Survey 2, and Thematic. After selecting a lesson, educators will view a lesson description and suggested teaching methods. Each lesson is supplemented by vocabulary, readings, assignments, activities, and discussions to provide in-depth learning experiences. History’s impact on art is also explored via relevant literature, historical events, and human achievements—all conveniently linked directly in the lesson descriptions. If educators need additional resources or support, the website also has an e-journal and weekly publications to explore.
Art History Teaching Resources
Example Lesson Plan: Ancient Art
BUY MUSEUM TICKETS
Tuesday July 2nd