Educational Material[]
The Noguchi Museum website provides a number programs for all grade levels as well as programs for tots, children, teens and families outside of a strictly educational/school pedagogy rubric.
On the School Programs and Partnerships page there are again the links for educational PDF's found at the bottom of the page as well as information on tour themes (also in PDF format) and links to reserve times for school tours. Below the educator PDF's there are further expanding items labeled "High School Partnerships: Learning to Look", "Elementary School Partnerships" and "Family Partnerships: Parents as Arts Parents".
The museum has also been involved in educational and community programming outside of the traditional boundaries of a classroom - museum type of relationship. The museum had visitors from both the local Pheonix House a substance abuse recovery house and program visit the museum a total of four times for three hours each visit. Another nontraditional education program the museum conducted again in 2010 was working with members of Project Luz a program to help adult hispanic immigrants assimilate into their new communities and environments by using photography and cameras. I was a little disappointed neither of these two programs seems to be continuing through the present.
Support on the website[]
Under the Programs/Education/Education Programs and Resources tab the museum provides information on training for educators as well as links to numerous PDF files for educators of all grade levels. Also found on this page are links to the Civic Action Blog which is discussed further in the social media section of the Noguchi Museum Project. In addition, there were some fragmentary bits of information such as mentioned of the Teacher Advisory Committee and the Cultivating Curiosity teacher's program but there is no mention of how to contact either the committee or how to join the teacher's program. The PDF file provided gives nice small and succinct information on the various tour themes and the grade levels each theme is appropriate or geared towards.
Conclusions[]
The lack of contact information for some of the programs and the interesting programs tried only once provided some frustration for me. I imagined myself as a teacher trying to join the Cultivating Curiosity program or Teacher Advisory Committee - I would have little or not direct way of doing so and may balk at the idea of sending a letter or email to the generic "info" email address provided on the museum website.
However - I was heartened to see the wide range of programs the museum has been involved with. Perhaps this indicates a willingness to try such non-traditional outreach programs in the future.
External links[]
Noguchi Museum Teens Blog
Noguchi Learning to Look program artworks
Civic Action
Civic Action Blog