Summer is in full swing, and the Georgia Museum of Art has been busy with a beloved community program. Art Adventures is a free, immersive art education experience for local youth organizations. Sessions are held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in June and July and combine gallery tours, sensory experiences, games and hands-on activities to create a captivating learning experience that engages a variety of age groups.
Following the museum’s mission of connecting through culture and curiosity, this summer has the theme “World Travelers.” Kaitlyn Loyd, the museum’s associate curator of school, youth and family programs, puts it simply: “Art can transport us.” Art Adventures transports campers to different times and places with the goal of broadening perspectives and engaging the local community in a fun, memorable way.
This year, campers are taking part in a range of activities that connect with works on display in the galleries. From pulling objects out of a mystery box to crafting a riveting travel story or creating mythical creatures inspired by Chinese funerary objects (mingqi), campers use their imaginations to experience faraway places.
Ellen Patton, the museum’s program assistant, who developed the activities, is particularly proud of the studio art portion of the session, where campers can express their creativity and imagination through a mixed-media piece. “They spread out gemstones on a paper and trace around them to create land masses,” she explains. “The creativity that comes out when they start naming their islands, countries and ‘destination’ spots is so imaginative, but many times connects back to the things that they learned about in the galleries.” Patton has been consistently impressed by how much the gallery discussions shape and inspire the art-making that follows.
Art Adventures sets itself apart from other museum programs by prioritizing experience over curriculum. Rather than focusing on a structured lesson plan, this program is built around creating a genuinely fun museum visit for campers. By leading with enjoyment, Art Adventures allows campers to immerse themselves in discovery and creativity, resulting in an enriching and memorable experience. For Loyd, that is her favorite aspect of this program. It offers a unique and meaningful way for the museum to serve the local community and reaches a younger demographic to explore art and culture in a different way.
The program’s impact speaks for itself. With the help of three dedicated learning and engagement interns, Art Adventures welcomed 18 groups and 440 campers in 2025; that’s hundreds of kids leaving with a unique art education experience that will last a lifetime. This year, the museum looks forward to building on that and welcoming even more young travelers through its doors.
Art Adventures is offered in morning and afternoon time slots on Tuesdays and Wednesdays through July 22. Each session can accommodate up to 30 children, with one chaperone for every 10 kids. To schedule your group’s Art Adventure, email gmoa-tours@uga.edu or call 706.542.0439.
Authored by:
Paige Carter
