Newfields

Newfields

Newfields: A Place for Nature & the Arts, offers dynamic experiences for guests of all ages. The 152-acre cultural campus features art galleries, lush gardens, a historic mansion, performance spaces, a nature preserve and sculpture park. From inspiring exhibitions in the Indianapolis Museum of Art Galleries, to concerts in The Toby, and a stroll through The Garden with a glass of cheer, guests are invited to interact with art and nature in exciting new ways. Newfields is home to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, among the ten largest and oldest general art museums in the nation; the Lilly House, a National Historic Landmark; The Garden, featuring 40 acres of contemporary and historic gardens, a working greenhouse and an orchard; and The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, one of the largest art and nature parks in the country. The Newfields campus extends outside of Indianapolis with Miller House and Garden in Columbus, Ind.—one of the nation’s most highly regarded examples of mid-century Modernist architecture. For more information visit www.discovernewfields.org.

EDUCATOR CONTACT INFO

ccaskey@discovernewfields.org

http://www.discovernewfields.org

  4000 Michigan Road, Indianapolis, IN 46208

Marion

3179231331

Viewfinders: A School to Museum Program

Program description

The Viewfinders Program is a school partnership program active in many elementary schools throughout the city of Indianapolis. Through Viewfinders, Newfields trains classroom teachers to utilize Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), a teaching technique that gives students the opportunity to share their ideas, build new perspectives, and learn to disagree respectfully – all while looking at and talking about works of art.

The Viewfinders Program uses VTS because it is a research-based teaching method that has been shown to improve the critical thinking and language skills of students who consistently participate in these open-ended discussions. Though the discussion is about a work of art, the skills that students develop as they make observations and support their ideas with evidence are relevant in all subject areas. VTS can be easy to learn and offers teachers a proven strategy to meet the current demands of the classroom. Find out more about Visual Thinking Strategies.

The Viewfinders Program provides teachers with professional development throughout the school year with workshops and in-class coaching. Teachers facilitate a number of VTS lessons with students using carefully selected artworks. These lessons help students develop their looking, thinking, and communication skills while exposing them to a wide variety of artworks. The final component of the program provides students the opportunity to visit The IMA at Newfields in the spring to exercise their new skills in front of real works of art.

The Viewfinders Program meets many existing Indiana Academic Standards.

For more information about the Viewfinders program, contact the Coordinator of School and Group Services.

Booking / scheduling contact

Calvin Caskey

   317-923-1331 x206

 ccaskey@discovernewfields.org

Program detail
Artistic discipline: Visual Arts
Cultural Origin: Multi-Cultural
Program type: Field Trip, Workshop/Class (In-School)
Population served: Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5
Subject: Fine Arts: Visual Arts
Bilingual: No
Available dates:

Various dates, August 2019 – May 2020

Length of program: 45 minutes to 1.5 hours per field trip
Location(s):

Newfields

4000 Michigan Rd

Indianapolis, IN 46208

Fees / Ticketing:

Free

IDOE STANDARDS

Connects to State (IDOE) and/or Common Core Curriculum Standards: Yes

Qualifications

Conducts educational programming for 2 or more years: Yes
Performs criminal background checks on staff with youth contact: Yes
Maintains general liability insurance: Yes
Provides scholarship and reduced fees: Yes
Conducts ongoing assessments of program quality: Yes
Connects to State (IDOE) and/or Common Core Curriculum Standards: Yes