Museum Morning

Intro

Museum Morning is a collaboration between South Bend and Mishawaka schools, the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame, and the South Bend Regional Museum of Art, located at the Century Center.

Museum Morning (MM) is officially 28 years young in 2008. The MM touring began in 1980-81 when 2,000 fifth-grade students from the South Bend Community School Corporation visited the South Bend Regional Museum of Art and the Snite Museum of Art.

The Program expanded the following year to include School City of Mishawaka as well as private and parochial schools in the region.

Objectives:

• To introduce fifth-graders to art museums in our community
• To teach skills can use when looking at art
• To supplement art education opportunities in the schools
• To promote learning from original works of art
• To offer all children access to art

Contacts

South Bend Regional Museum of Art: Claudia Maslowski, tour and bus coordinator, 574-235-9102 or claudia@sbrma.org. Jessi Lentych, curator of education, 574-235-9102

Snite Museum of Art: Sheila Talbitzer, tour coordinator, 574-631-3093. Jackie Welsh, curator of education, welsh.14@nd.edu.

Tour Schedule

The date, time, and bus scheduling for participating schools are arranged by the museums for the schools; teachers will receive written confirmation of arrangements. Schools visit both museums on the same morning for 45-minute tours at both. Buses bring students to the first museum, wait for them to complete the tour, then bring them to the second museum for the second tour. Docents are waiting at each museum, so the schedule must be followed exactly as indicated the letter. Sorry, no exceptions.

Helpful Information

The MM tour is an interactive tour, not a lecture. Docents are aware of learning styles and questioning strategies that engage students; tours have been planned to link with fifth-grade curriculum. Unfortunately, there is not time to see the entire museum.

Teachers may arrange for another tour at either museum in order to see more of the collections, or to address specific subjects such as history, social studies, language arts or foreign languages.

• The tour takes about 45 minutes.
• Rest rooms are available on the lower levels of the museums.
• Usual classroom attire is appropriate.
• Because of tight scheduling, there is no time for a gift shop visit.
• If the weather is good, it helps to leave outerwear, bags, etc., on the bus.

Museum Rules

• One adult per 10 children
• Teachers and chaperones are responsible for discipline.
• Please stand two feet away from the works of art.
• Please do not touch works of art.
• Backpacks and umbrellas must be left in the coat room.
• No flash photography in the galleries.
• Best behavior makes for a more successful tour.
• No chewing gum, food, or drinks, (including water bottles) in the museum.

Bus Parking

At the SBRMA, buses park in the Century Center lot after dropping students off in front of the building. At the Snite Museum, buses drop off in the museum bay, a few steps from the front door of the museum, then move to the JACC lot. Area bus drivers are familiar with parking locations.

Chaperones

All MM tours require one chaperone for each 10 students. Teachers and chaperones are responsible for discipline and must stay with their group in the museum. Chaperones may park in the Visitors Lot (clearly marked) off Notre Dame Avenue, then walk towards the north end of the stadium and the Snite Museum. Stop in the Snite Museum gift shop to request a parking slip to use in the meter when exiting the Visitors Lot. The SBRMA offers parking in the Century Center lot for $5 or free two-hour street parking in downtown South Bend.

What Not to Bring

Backpacks should be left on the bus; coats, etc., must be left in the coat room of each museum. Since tours are pre-planned, please do not bring worksheets or other assignments for the MM visit.