The award-winning Division of Education at the Philadelphia Museum of Art offers hands-on activities, gallery tours, performances, and kid-friendly Museum tours during the spring/summer 2005 season. Several new programs - including Family Summer Studio and Tours for Tots - enhance the lineup of celebrated Family and Children's programs.

Something Every Sunday

Something Every Sunday program imaginative ways for families to explore the works of art in the Museum and to make their own art in the Museum’s studios and galleries. Museum admission is pay what you wish on Sundays, providing an affordable option for families to spend the day together. New this season are Tours for Tots, which, created specifically for preschoolers and kindergarten students, proves you’re never too young for an artistic experience, and Family Summer Studio, where families are encouraged to drop in at any time Sundays in June, July, and August to create works of art in the Museum’s studios. Drawing Together encourages family members to try their hands with pencil and sketchpad in the galleries, and Early Bird Read and Look, which invites preschoolers and their families to a storytelling session followed by a related craft workshop. Self-guided family tours focusing on different aspects of the Museum’s collections are always available at the West Information Desk. For a full schedule, visit the website at www.philamuseum.org/education or call for a brochure at 215-684-7605.

Something Every Sunday schedule

• Early Bird Read and Look (ages 3 to 5)
  Paid tickets required
  10:15 to 11 a.m.
  May 15 and 22 – Dalí and the Path of Dreams
  June 12 and 26 – All the Way to Lhasa
  July 10 and 24 – The Stair Case Group
  August 7 and 14 – Seven Blind Mice
• Tours for Tots (ages 3 to 5)
  Paid tickets required
  11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
  May 22 – Animals in Art
  June 26 – Colors Galore
  July 17 – Nature in Art
  July 24 – Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
  August 21 – What are They Wearing?
• Family Gallery Tour (ages 6 to 10)
  Free tickets required
  11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
  May 15 – Sculpture All Around
  June 12 – Learning to Look
  July 10 – America the Beautiful
  July 24 – American Art
  July 31 – Drawings from the Prat Collection
  August 7 – Stories in Art
  August 14 – Famous Children
• Sunday Summer Studio (all ages)
  Free
  Drop in anytime on Sundays during June, July, and August and create a magnificent work of art.
• Drawing Together (all ages)
  Free
  12 to 2:30 p.m.
  May 1, 15, and 22

Special Family Events

Special Family Events are designed around a theme to highlight different artistic heritages through performances and hands-on activities at family-friendly prices. Museum teachers assist children in hands-on crafts that complement the performance.

• Celebrate: Latin America! Sunday, May 1, 2005
  Celebrate: Latin America will invite families to dance to the rhythms of Sol y Canto, an exuberant bilingual band featuring performers from Cuba, Uruguay, Argentina, and Puerto Rico. Children can finish off the day by making Latin American-inspired crafts and drawing in the Museum galleries.
  Schedule:
  10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Make and Take Workshop, Latin American Crafts
  11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Sol y Canto performances
  12 to 2:30 p.m. Drawing Together
• From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Sunday, June 19, 2005
  The ArtsPower National Touring Theater presents this live adaptation based on the Newbery Award-winning book by E.L. Konigsburg in the most appropriate setting. Families will watch in delight as Claudia Kincaid and her brother, Jamie, run away from home and steal away inside New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Once inside, the duo is introduced to and intriguing mystery and the most unusual friend either of them has ever made.
• Drawing Extravaganza, Sunday, July 31, 2005
  Families are invited to celebrate drawing and the special exhibition From Poussin to Cézanne, French Drawings from the Prat Collection while they meet and observe local artists as they work in the Great Stair Hall. This event will expose families to several drawing mediums, including conte crayon, charcoal, and pastel and will allow them to add their own touch to a group mural.

Art Classes for Children

The Division of Education offers a host of studio art programs for children, using the masterpieces in the Museum's permanent collections as sources of inspiration. In May 2005, the Division will offer a five-week miniseries of art classes for children aged 3 to 12. The classes are an introduction, or continuation of, the Museum’s regular art classes, all of which encourage the development of observation and creative thinking skills. No prior experience is necessary for any children’s classes, but pre-registration is required and class size is limited. For a full schedule, visit the website at www.philamuseum.org/education or call for a brochure at 215-235-SHOW.