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The William R. and Clarice V. Spurlock Museum at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Outreach Programs

Oral Traditions

Stories around the World

Description:
Students learn about specific Museum objects and the oral traditions that add context and meaning to their places in culture. Teachers choose the stories presented from a descriptive list of prepared tales. Groups may end their tour with a 30-minute craft session related to one of the stories. Suggested topics for Stories around the World outreach programs include Cinderella around the world, Greek and Roman Mythology, Trickster Tales, and Boy and Girl Heroes. Teaching collection artifacts complement the stories.

Grades: 4 years old and up
Program Length: 45-90 minutes

A Tapestry of Stories

Description:
From Rumpelstiltzkin to The Spider Weaver, folktales are filled with stories of spinning, weaving, and the wonders of cloth. Students hear a selection of stories related to objects on display or made available from the Museum’s Teaching Collection. Groups can end their tour with a 30-minute craft session. We encourage teachers who schedule this tour to borrow the Resource Center’s A Tapestry of Stories Building Block, which includes Teaching Collection artifacts and pre- and post-visit activities.

Grades: K-4
Program Length: 45-75 minutes

Greek and Roman Mythology

Description:
Students listen to the stories of gods and heroes as they relate to the objects in the Museum’s Ancient Mediterranean Cultures Gallery. Some students are dressed as characters in the stories. Groups may end their tour with a 30-minute craft session in the learning center. As an outreach program, Greek and Roman Mythology includes storytelling, dressing in the Greek style, performing a short play, and handling teaching artifacts.

Grades: 4-12
Program Length: 60-90 minutes

Ancient Connections

In the Shadow of the Pyramids

Description:
Based in the Museum’s Ancient Egypt exhibit, this tour covers popular highlights of this long-lived civilization: the importance of the Nile, scribes and writing, the Rosetta Stone, tombs and the afterlife, and mummification. Students also hear an ancient folktale and create their own scroll to take home. The outreach program is similar to the in-house version but omits the craft and lasts 75 minutes.

Grades: 4-7
Program Length: 105 minutes

Greek and Roman Mythology

Description:
Students listen to the stories of gods and heroes as they relate to the objects in the Museum’s Ancient Mediterranean Cultures Gallery. Some students are dressed as characters in the stories. Groups may end their tour with a 30-minute craft session in the learning center. As an outreach program, Greek and Roman Mythology includes storytelling, dressing in the Greek style, performing a short play, and handling teaching artifacts.

Grades: 4-12
Program Length: 60-90 minutes

Raiders of the Lost Art

Description:
In the multi-session program, students explore issues relating to stolen art. Current units focus on the looting of the Iraq Museum or the ownership of the Rosetta Stone, but the format can be adapted to any controversial situation involving cultural property. Students will have access to replica artifacts, adopt a persona (e.g. looter, archaeologist, journalist), conduct research to support their personas’ positions, read contemporary news articles and write letters to the editor, and appear in a talk show to defend their points of view. Museum staff introduce the project, assist students with identifying and evaluating internet resources, and host the talk show (which, if the schedule permits, may be held in the Museum’s knight Auditorium). This program emphasizes group work, independent research, reading, persuasive writing, and authentic assessment. Materials are provided, but student access to the internet, and approximately 10–15 classroom beyond outreach presentation hours are necessary for completion.

Grades: 6-12
Program Length: varies

Medieval European Life

A Day as a Knight

Description:
As knights-to-be, students discuss suits of armor in the European Gallery, design their own shields, hear a story, and play the medieval Game of the Goose. Except for the gallery visit, the outreach program activities are identical to those of the in-house program, and teaching artifacts the students may handle are brought into the classroom.

Grades: 3-4
Program Length: 90 minutes

The Blacksmith's Apprentice

Description:
As apprentice blacksmiths, the students create chain mail designs, play a game, hear a tale, and learn about medieval European living conditions. Time is also spent exploring armor in the European Gallery. This program (formerly called Medieval European Craftspeople) can be combined with a general tour; total time in the Museum for this combined program is three hours. Except for the gallery visit, the outreach program activities are identical to those of the in-house program, and teaching artifacts the students may handle are brought into the classroom.

Grades: 5-7
Program Length: 105 minutes

Special Programs

Visiting Artists in the Schools

Description:
Each year, the Spurlock Museum brings visiting ethnic and folk artists to the Champaign-Urbana area for outreach appearances in the schools and performances in special school programs held at the Museum, as well as public concerts, demonstrations, and workshops. During the 2011–12 school year, we will be offering performances by our spring Winter Tales American Indian storyteller and possibly other performers. Outreach performances in past years include Balinese Shadow puppet Theater, Northern cheyenne drumming, dance and song, and kora music from the Gambia, West Africa. Please contact Kim Sheahan for further information about these unique program opportunities.

Contact: Kim Sheahan
E-mail:
Phone: (217) 244-3355