Docent Day for Huntington Students at Heckscher Museum
With its many fine artists and strong fine arts programs, it isn’t surprising that the Huntington School District and the Heckscher Museum of Art have forged strong ties. The partnership includes two docent programs for select fifth graders and high school students that have been designed to foster peer discussion about works of art.
Huntington’s participants in the junior and high school docent programs learn how to speak about works of art on view in the Museum and take turns leading a class discussion when their peers visit on a subsequent field trip. The programs are intended to enhance the museum-going experience while at the same time strengthening communication and critical-thinking skills and enhancing an understanding of how to look at and interpret a variety of art forms.
Joy Weiner, the Heckscher Museum’s director of education and public programs, recently hosted the students at the third annual docent mentor day. “This year’s event was as lively as ever,” said Kristina Seekamp, associate director of education, who participated in the session.
Students began the day by learning a little bit more about each other during an “ice-breaker” activity. Then the docents moved into small groups where they raced to be the first team to complete the “Five Centuries of Art Challenge,” – a list of clues describing works of art in the exhibition, Five Centuries of Arts: Selections from the Permanent Collection.
The day concluded with junior docents sharing what they learned about the exhibition with their high school teammates, who offered feedback and guidance and served as an audience as the younger group members practiced for their upcoming presentations.
Organizers said the day showed the power of art to bring students of all ages and abilities together in a fun and exciting environment. Huntington art teachers Kasmira Mohanty, Todd Hiscox and Karen Morea helped coordinate the participation of students from their respective schools.
The Huntington students’ participation in the docent initiative is sponsored by the district’s arts-in-education program.
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