On June 10, 2016, the Sun Sentinel (
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"NSU museum program brings art to students
Helen Wolt Helen WoltContact Reporter
Forum Publishing Group
NSU museum program brings students the art world
The NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale is introducing students to the arts through tours that enhance STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) learning objectives.
Museum on the Move is a new program that launched in the spring, which offers sixth graders guided tours, interactive talks and a hands-on arts activity.
"Exposure to the arts has been proven to improve academic performance as well as necessary skills such as critical thinking and communication," said chief curator and museum director Bonnie Clearwater.
By viewing artworks, students learn to distinguish between mediums and materials. Discussions explore historical and contemporary subjects and cultures; and concepts such as color, composition, light and space.
"The best thing is seeing them all excited, raising their hands, each one coming up with interpretations I'm even surprised at," Clearwater said.
In addition to the artistic process, they see how various elements function together to express ideas and emotions, solve visual dilemmas and realize the artist's intentions.
"It opens up the whole world," Clearwater said. "The arts is one way to build empathy in a youth. They begin to understand the world through somebody else's eyes."
For many students, the Museum on the Move tour is the first time they've stepped into an art museum and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Clearwater recalls one student that remarked, "This is better than the Everglades."
Often the youngsters are introduced to new avenues of expression.
Currently, Museum on the Move is the only program of its kind in Broward County. With support from community partners, the program has introduced roughly 3,000 Broward County Public Schools sixth graders to the art world.
Clearwater said it's essential that the next generation learns from the arts.
"It helps students in higher education and careers and turns them into lifelong learners and lovers of the arts," she said."