Skidmore College and the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery believe in enriching the education of students through exhibitions and programs that expose them to the arts. Our programs are designed to complement traditional school-based learning and to support the Common Core.
The Tang offers a variety of programs for schools, including field trips, classroom visits, and teacher training and resources. We bring our programming to public libraries, host multigenerational art projects, and offer Family Saturday programs, adult classes and tours.
Museum Educator Sunny Ra with a visitor in Dona Nelson: Stand Alone Paintings, Tang Teaching Museum, 2018, photo by Chris Massa
Students at Pleasant Valley Elementary School in Schenectady show off their African masks inspired by the artist Phyllis Galembo, November 13, 2015
Family Saturday: Martin Kersels, Tang Teaching Museum, August, 2019, photo by Dan Lubbers
Make Your Own Superhero Cape, Summer Library Programs, July, 2015
Family Saturday: Streb Extreme Action Workshop, Tang Teaching Museum, June 8, photo by Dan Lubbers
Shenendehowa 9th graders create leaves inspired by Ellsworth Kelly, November 18, 2015
Artist Willie Cole speaks with Hamilton Elementary students at the Tang Teaching Museum, June, 2017
Upcoming Families & Children events
How to Book Your Visit
Skidmore College and the Tang Teaching Museum believe in enriching the education of K-12 students through exhibitions and programs that expose them to the arts. Our programs are designed to complement traditional school-based learning and to support the Common Core.
Participation in these programs can take place in the Museum or in your classroom. We look forward to creating a meaningful learning experience to suit your students.
Classroom Visits
We also offer a program of traveling materials – our “suitcase” program – designed to enhance the school curriculum by bringing multidisciplinary concepts from the exhibition into the classroom. Our hands-on projects provide opportunities for teaching, learning, and understanding issues raised by current and past exhibitions at the Tang. Referencing artworks and themes from these exhibitions, we have assembled interdisciplinary programs that bridge the arts and your school curricula in accordance with the Common Core for K-12 students.
Programs are free and all materials are provided.
Library Program
The Tang Teaching Museum offers traveling programs to libraries. These hands-on art projects provide opportunities for teaching, learning, and understanding issues raised by current and past exhibitions at the Tang, while offering children the opportunity to express their creativity in fun and inspiring ways.
These programs are free and and materials are provided. For more information or to schedule your visit, please call Sunny Ra, The Laurie M. Tisch Educator for K-12 and Community Programs, 518-580-5538; or email sra@skidmore.edu.
Teacher Training and Resources
The Education Department of the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery offers a variety of Teacher Training opportunities in addition to our annual Educator’s Guide, which is available as a PDF below.
We offer teacher training in Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) and how it can apply to the Common Core and your curriculum. VTS is a learner-based method of talking about art, using open-ended questions to elicit student responses, and has been proven to enhance critical thinking skills. We are happy to customize the training to meet your needs.
We offer in-museum presentations to teachers including group tours and/or discussions about current and upcoming exhibitions and their relevance to classroom curricula, or we can schedule a time to come to your faculty meetings to talk about what the Tang can bring to your teachers and students.
We are often invited to give workshops at Arts in Education Teacher Development Days in and around the capital region. Check our calendar for upcoming opportunities, or call us to schedule a presentation at your school district’s in-service days.