Using scholarship monies graciously given to us by the Carnegie, I brought my fourth grade students to this program. Truth be told, I was unsure of how my rural students (and their teacher chaperones) would respond. I must say that the level of knowledge and enthusiasm of the staff made for a remarkable trip. The studio and the tour were centered around the idea that great art can be made from materials we see in front of us all the time; that the mundane, if you really think about it, is really all we have to inspire us. It's the idea that certain items are revered as special because we assign them that notoriety. And other "everyday" items are cast aside as insignificant. It is up to the artist to illustrate how any thing can have unique meaning to any number of people. I think the nature of creativity, however, is transpiring into not creating new ideas, but creating new ways of reusing ideas... idea recycling, if you will.

The guided tour includes a wide selection of the Life on Mars exhibition, with questioning that emphasizes the concept of everyday life, everyday materials. I was especially pleased that the docents used more questioning in their discussion techniques then the mere reciting of facts. They were exceptionally skilled in listening to student responses and exploring their understanding.

The studio portion then applied all the concepts they had discussed. Activities were guided toward a finished project that the students took home. I typically view "make and take" projects as somewhat shallow, but this was truly a valuable creating experience for them. It was almost like an assessment of what they had learned today, like an application of theories. I was very pleased with both tours I went on (I brought 85 students split into two visits). I would recommend this trip for grade levels 3-8 because the studio project - though grounded in concrete logic that elementary students can grasp - has an aspect of abstract and divergent problem solving. It is great for upper elementary and middle school students. I think also the education staff would be very flexible and creative in working with younger students. Their energy to engage the students is quite apparent.