Museum in a Box, a set of art-related crafts, books and toys for children, is now available for community members to explore at the Athens-Clarke County Library. The boxes of activities were a project of the Georgia Museum of Art’s learning and engagement department. Based on objects in the permanent collection, the activities are designed to encourage curiosity, imagination and hands-on discovery among children.
Three boxes with different themes are each geared toward a specific age range. Two of the boxes, “Colors and Shapes” for ages 2 – 5 and “Abstract Shapes” for ages 4 – 6, draw from abstract works in the museum’s collection. The last box, “Weaving the World” for ages 5 – 8, was inspired by woven works from a variety of cultures including Cherokee, Gullah and Choctaw.
“Abstract Shapes” features two books about different shapes. It also includes four hands-on tools that promote active learning by allowing children to engage with color theory, shape identification and creating abstract art. For example, wooden line blocks encourage children to arrange their own unique structures out of wavy, straight and curled lines. They come with cue cards demonstrating how to represent things like a piece of cheese or a sea lion. A sketchbook and twistable colored pencils allow young artists to sketch shapes or draw their own abstract objects. Activity cards provide additional ideas, and instructions on the inside of the box suggest how to get the most out of Museum in a Box.
Representation was the major motivation behind “Weaving the World,” a box themed around the variety of ways that different cultures use the craft. Some examples of weaving within the museum’s collection are Cherokee mats, Choctaw baskets, Gullah sweetgrass baskets and woven sculptures by American artist Kenneth Weaver.
“I love weaving and it’s just something that spans so many cultures,” said Mallory Lind, associate curator of community engagement and outreach, who led this new initiative alongside Hanxu Chen, a graduate assistant who is the museum’s community outreach coordinator. Lind said, “There are a lot of Native American cultures that weave not just baskets but clothing [and] blankets. . . . Anybody can connect with weaving.”
In addition to the cultural diversity of the craft, Lind noted the educational advantages of weaving. Learning to weave can serve multiple purposes for young students. Understanding weaving can translate to everyday skills such as sewing — crucial for repairing holes in clothing or resecuring buttons. The craft also complements math curriculum by allowing students to practice counting and identifying patterns.
The Museum in a Box program supports the Georgia Museum of Art’s mission to “collect, preserve, interpret and share art to inspire dialogue, advance inquiry and connect the University of Georgia and communities beyond through meaningful engagement with art, history and culture.” By putting resources into the surrounding community, the museum expands its reach beyond campus. Lind said the importance of outreach is “having a visible thing that is giving back to the community but also making ourselves known so that people keep us in mind as a resource, as a place to go.” By making these boxes available to the community, she hopes to bring visibility to the museum, reminding and encouraging community members who may not usually visit.
Currently, the boxes are available at the Athens-Clarke County Library on Baxter Street. While not available for checkout, the boxes can be used while visiting the library, and any completed drawings can be taken home. Through this initiative, the museum hopes to broaden how it shares art and connects communities.
Authored by:
Jisu Stanfield
