Junior Docent School Program - Milwaukee Art Museum

2001 Opening of the Calatrava addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum
World Trade Towers in New York City are target of terrorists
2002 Homeland Security Act passed
2003 War in Iraq
2008 Barack Obama elected President – first African-American President
Objectives
Enhance students‟ knowledge of American history as it relates to the Museum‟s
art collection.
Students will be able to recognize works of art within the following periods of
American history:
Explorers, Colonies and the Birth of a Nation
Expansion and Civil War
Growth and Change in the Nation
Modern America
The students will be able to discuss some of the following themes while looking
at works of art: immigration, economics, natural resources, democracy, diversity,
geography, freedom, equal rights, and labor.
Tour Implementation Ideas
The following works of art are examples that can be used with this tour. Please know
this tour is not limited to the pieces listed below!
The following teaching aides may be useful with this tour and are located in the
Education Resource Room cabinets:
A map of the United States and map overlays showing the colonies; territories; and 50
states
Matching Game worksheet – List of significant people in American history and a picture
of a work of art from the Museum‟s collection that corresponds or represents that person
(i.e. Thomas Edison and Tiffany Lamp or Alexander Bell and the telephone).
Explorers, Colonies, and the Birth of a Nation (1492 – 1815)
Use the map of the U.S. and the colonies overlay
Benton, Thomas Hart, Marquette for the Painting “Cotton Weighing”
“What customs and traditions can you observe? How are they alike or different?”
Copley, John Singleton, Portrait of Thomas Boylston
Ask the students to make comparisons to then and now. For example, how does their
clothing differ from ours?
Expansion and Civil War (1816 – 1870)
Use the map of the U.S. to show the colonies and territories
Chair Park
Use the chair display and the newspaper that goes with the Chair Park. Compare and
contrast to the Windsor Chairs.
Landscape Paintings in the American Galleries
Use role playing to discuss the exploration of the new territories, for example Lewis and
Clark. What did they find? How did they record their adventure? What did they eat?
Where did they sleep? How did they survive?
© 2011 Milwaukee Art Museum 700 N. Art Museum Dr. Milwaukee, WI 53202
JDSP – Docent Packet
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