Pilot draft, in development. This program is being tested with teachers and is not final. Anything marked [TO CONFIRM] is still being checked.

A long table of old typewriters and adding machines in the gallery

Plan a visit

A field trip in three steps

A few minutes of video in class, an hour at the gallery, one drawing after.

Free admission
Grades 3 to 8
About 20 students per visit
60 minutes at the gallery
We can help pay for your school bus (details TBD)

Before your visit

Grades 3 to 5

▶ Play this · about 7 min

Then ask

Which old thing do you most want to see for real? Why?
What is one thing a designer or a painter did to make something beautiful?
Look around our classroom. What would you redesign, and how?

Grades 6 to 8

▶ Play this · about 8 min

Then ask

Pick one object. What job did it do, and what did its designer add just to make it beautiful?
The Atari had very little memory, so its pictures are made of blocks. How can a limit create a style?
What will people 80 years from now notice about the things you use every day?

The day of: 60 minutes

0:00
Arrive
First floor: coats and bags in team bins, bathrooms, head count.
0:05
Sit together
First floor: a short talk and a short video about what's upstairs (the video is still to come), then the three rules and four teams, each with one adult.
0:15
Part 1, Design
Upstairs to Beautiful Things. Teams rotate through four stations (A to D), about 4 minutes each: typewriters, movie machines, TVs, games.
0:31
Part 2, Art
Still upstairs. Half the class at the AWWW Wall of cat and dog paintings (H), half at Guess the Sargent (I). Switch after 4 minutes.
0:40
Part 3, Drawing
Back down, likely on the mezzanine. Everyone sits and draws one pet portrait from a printed copy of a painting they just saw.
0:55
Share and go
Hold up a drawing and name one thing you really looked at. Head count, then out to the bus.

You bring one adult for every 5 or 6 students. Kirsten, Noy and Neal run the stations, and chaperones will lead some of them (Kirsten will confirm which). Chaperone sheet (PDF)

Access. Beautiful Things is up one flight of stairs, and there’s no elevator right now. Please tell us about any access needs ahead of time so we can plan. A ground-floor version of the visit is to come.

›Bringing two classes on the same day?

The second class arrives 25 minutes after the first, so only one class is upstairs at a time. Class 1 comes down to draw as class 2 goes up.

Time	Class 1	Class 2
0:00	Arrives, first floor
0:15	Goes upstairs
0:25		Arrives, first floor
0:40	Comes down to draw	Goes upstairs
1:00	Leaves
1:05		Comes down to draw
1:25		Leaves

After: draw it from memory, then make it yours

About 30 minutes. Paper and a pencil.

From memory, draw one thing you saw at the gallery. Make it big.
Label one choice a real person made to make it beautiful.
Next to it, draw it again, redesigned for today and for someone you know.

Grades 6 to 8: add three labels to the redesign: who it's for, what they need, and one idea you kept from the original.

Need your principal’s OK?

A one-page note you can fill in and hand over. It’s a draft.

Note for your principal (draft PDF)

More detail

›The full teacher guide

Every station, two longer lessons for before, a cardboard design project for after, vocabulary and grade notes. Open the guide · PDF

›A slide deck, if you'd rather click through

Same story as the videos, with pictures to pause on and questions on each slide.

Grades 3 to 5: Open the deck · PDF
Grades 6 to 8: Open the deck · PDF

›Handouts

Field journal · PDF
Drawing skills sheet · PDF
Looking hunt · PDF
Chaperone sheet · PDF
For teachers and schools, one page · PDF

›Arts standards

Washington State K-12 Arts Learning Standards (OSPI, 2017). The guide shows where each one happens.

Grades 3 to 5

VA:Re7.1.3a Speculate about processes an artist uses to create a work of art.
VA:Cn11.1.4a Through observation, infer information about time, place, and culture in which a work of art was created.
VA:Re7.2.4a Analyze components in visual imagery that convey messages.
VA:Pr6.1.4a Compare and contrast purposes of art museums, art galleries, and other venues, as well as the types of personal experiences they provide.
VA:Cr2.3.5a Identify, describe, and visually document places and/or objects of personal significance.
MA:Re7.1.4a Identify, describe, and explain how messages are created by components in media artworks.

Grades 6 to 8

VA:Cr2.3.6a Design or redesign objects, places, or systems that meet the identified needs of diverse users.
VA:Cn11.1.6a Analyze how art reflects changing times, traditions, resources, and cultural uses.
VA:Re7.1.7a Explain how the method of display, the location, and the experience of an artwork influence how it is perceived and valued.
VA:Cr1.2.7a Develop criteria to guide making a work of art or design to meet an identified goal.
VA:Cr2.3.7a Apply visual organizational strategies to design and produce a work of art, design, or media that clearly communicates information or ideas.
VA:Cr1.1.8a Document early stages of the creative process visually and/or verbally in traditional or new media.

›Where, when and the details we're still confirming

Where: Occidental Fine Arts Center, 311 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104, in Pioneer Square. The visit starts on the first floor; Beautiful Things is upstairs.
Cost: Free admission. [TO CONFIRM]: that school-group visits, including staff help at the stations, are free too.
Length: 60 minutes at the gallery, door to door. Two classes can come the same day: the second arrives 25 minutes after the first, so only one class is upstairs at a time.
Bus: We can help pay for your school bus (details TBD).
Group size: About 20 students plus their adults per visit, with one adult for every 5 or 6 students.
When: Public hours are Wednesday to Saturday, 12 to 5. [TO CONFIRM]: whether school groups can come in the morning, before public hours.
Who runs it: Kirsten, who leads school visits and is your contact, with Noy and Neal. They're Foundation staff, not trained teachers.
Booking: [TO CONFIRM]: how to reach Kirsten and how booking works. For now, use the gallery's contact page.
Getting there: [TO CONFIRM]: bus drop-off, parking, and where to eat lunch. Occidental Park is a short walk away.
Accessibility: Beautiful Things is up one flight of stairs, and there's no elevator right now. A ground-floor version of the visit is to come; it isn't built yet. Please tell us about any access needs ahead of time so we can plan. A second emergency exit from the 2nd floor is planned. [TO CONFIRM]: accessible restrooms and seating. The room gets loud when the machines run; the paintings room is quieter.

Time

Class 1

Class 2