LAST TOUR OF THE YEAR!!

Today, I toured with six wonderful elementary school girls. They were 9-10 years old (4th graders). Before they arrived at PAM, they had walked from their school in Old Town Pasadena to a neighboring school, participated in a fun run, and walked over to the museum. So they had had quite the adventure before arriving. There was only one tour as it was a single classroom of 23 students. There was one boy who was a special ed student, accompanied by his aide, who stayed for a while and then decided he needed to go. The aide had informed me at the beginning of the tour of the situation.

After introducing the artists and talking about the purpose of their visit, we explored Room 5. The girls were very interested in the work and made copious notes. We gathered and shared observations and questions. Each student had something to say about her particular favorite; one was particularly interested in Ascending Dragon, so we proceeded to take a closer look. I talked about Cai’s interest in the bridge between Western and Eastern art. I explained the importance of the dragon in Asian cultures. One Vietnamese girl confirmed that the dragon is a significant symbol in her culture. We watched the Fetus Movement video and talked about the scientific questions Cai may have been asking when he created this event. We then examined the charts recording his heart rate and discussed how one’s heart rate can be affected by events such as sitting in the middle of an explosion.

In Room 6, we looked at Human Abode: Project for ET #1, which was Cai’s first major explosion event. I found a picture of the actual “abode” so that they could compare the photo to his drawn rendition. Again, they were fascinated by the writing on his work.

Our final stop was Room 11, Palmyra, and Return to Darkness. They were very engaged with the See, Hear, Smell, and Feel activity and were quite imaginative in their offerings. We discussed the significance of Palmyra in the context of ancient civilizations, its destruction, and the irony that Cai employed a material like gunpowder to depict the destruction in a work of art. Then we watched the video of the making of Return to Darkness. This was the first time I started with the artwork before the video. The artwork intrigued them, and they recognized the fuse point from previous works. Finally, we discussed whether the works were the same. One student said “yes,” another said “no.” The “yes” student reasoned that the materials were all the same, differing only in form. The “no” student noted that the final product looked nothing like the original. 

This was a perfect tour to end the year with. The girls were lively, serious students with imaginative ideas and confidence.

Comments & Suggestions:
In the timeline of Cai’s work, the girls located some of the works that we had previously examined. One girl found the Ascending Dragon entry and said she could see the dragon on the mountain in that small photo better than she could on one we had previously looked at.

Today, I toured with two groups: one of 2nd-grade students and another of 3rd-grade students, and I had two completely different experiences. The first group (2nd grade) was engaged, curious, and responsive; the second (3rd grade) not so much. The second group consisted of 7 boys and two adults (one of whom was the teacher). 

We worked with the same items in the collection, though I modified the content with the second group by close-looking at more items, guiding the conversation more, and spending less time giving them added information. We (Group 2) spent more time looking at items they expressed interest in, rather than at the items I had planned. 

We all did the heart rate experiment in Room 5, which went well. Both groups engaged and had interesting insights about the activity. We visited Palmyra and Return to Darkness, and all students participated.

Our visits were cut a bit short because, although the bus was on time, most of the students needed to use the restroom before starting on the tour.

Yesterday, I toured with a group of six middle-school (8th grade) girls who were very quiet yet interested. We were only doing one tour as there were only 30 students total. They were English-speaking Mandarin learners. I wouldn’t classify them as engaged, but they responded when asked questions and, on occasion, asked questions of their own. We were asked to include the oracle bones on the tour.

We began the tour with the oracle bones, where I gave a brief history of their discovery and their contribution to written communication and the history of China. We then discussed the process of divination, which I tied to some of Cai’s philosophy of mortality/immortality and permanence/impermanence. Finally, we looked at some examples of the evolution of the language from pictographs to current Chinese writing. 

We spent time in almost every room, discussing various works and processes, focusing primarily on Palmyra, Return to Darkness, and Shadow: Pray for Protection. At Palmyra and Shadow I used the ODIP strategy: observe (silently, what do you see; not what you think you see), describe (share what you see), interpret (based on what you observe and connect, what do you think the story is), and finally prove (what makes you say that; what do you see in the work that demonstrates your interpretation). 

The tour ended when half the group disappeared. They simply went to the restroom with the chaperone! Luckily, we were near the end of the tour, so we spent the remaining minutes in the garden.

Reflection (what would you do differently?):

Comments & Suggestions:
The groups were formed (by the teacher) into single gender (girls/boys) groups, which, in middle school, is a wise decision. Studies have shown that single gender grouping relieves some social stressors within this age group, making for a more successful experience for everyone.

Today’s tour almost repeated last week’s (same school, same grade level, different students). The students were again well behaved, engaged, and confident. I did the same main activities (heartbeat, jumping into Palmyra, and Pray for Protection close-looking). The students participated actively in all activities. They asked questions about the work, the artist, and the circumstances that Cai explored in his work.

At the beginning of the tour, I told the students that we would be examining some particular subjects so that they knew what to expect. I explained that, along with being an artist, Cai was a scientist, and much of his work showed his curiosity and imagination. I told them we would work on observation skills and did a short test of their observation skills. We then talked about construction (building), deconstruction (destroying), and reconstruction (rebuilding). I explained that we would discuss those concepts in some of the work we examined.

Overall, both groups were a joy to work with.

Comments & Suggestions:
I want to commend Lonnie for her pre-tour engagement with the students. Both weeks, the bus arrived well before the start of the tour, and Lonnie gave them a whole class activity to keep them occupied. These students were well-engaged, and everyone participated. When the tour started, they were calm and ready to go. Thank you, Lonnie!

Today I toured with two groups of delightful 3rd-grade students. They were energetic, curious, and engaged. We began by discussing observation and the expectations for their tour. 

In Room 5, after students viewed the entire room, they noted what interested them and any questions they had. We then discussed. We proceeded with the heartbeat experiment. They found their pulses, counted and recorded their beats per 15 seconds. They then ran in place for 15 seconds, took their pulse, and recorded. We discussed the results, and they were sure that their heartbeats increased when they exercised. We then watched the video of Cai sitting amid the explosion. I asked how they think his heart rate was doing, and they concluded that his BP would increase. We then looked at the data presented to confirm their thoughts. The ability for the students to see the actual recorded data helped them to understand the process. We discussed ways the BP can be affected: fright, loud noises, sitting in the middle of explosions, etc.

We moved to Room 11, where we “jumped into” the Palmyra work. Students recorded what they “saw,” “heard,” “smelled,” while in the environment, and finally how that environment made them feel. I briefly gave them some background about Palmyra, including its being an ancient city and its importance to the region. One student offered that she had a friend whose family was from that area. We then looked at the Return to Darkness video and discussed the construction and deconstruction of the work. Some students made a connection between Palmyra and Return to Darkness.

We moved to Room 2 to view Shadow: Pray for Protection and examined the work from three perspectives. As they looked, they noted what they saw in the work. Then, they shared what they observed, and each student crossed off the items on the list if they had them. One student asked if the work was about Hiroshima (third grade!) He also added that he knew what kind of plane it was!

Finally, we discussed what the two pieces (Palmyra and Shadow) had in common. The thought that they were both about war, and that war was not good.

The students in both groups were engaged and eager to participate. Having the clipboards and pencils from the beginning was very empowering for them. They felt confident adding their thoughts to the conversations, either orally or in writing.

Reflection (what would you do differently?):
I wouldn’t do much differently. I have learned that having the clipboards and pencils ready to be passed out and having the students hold them from the beginning of the tour makes a lot of difference. The younger students like to record information and are eager to participate.

Comments & Suggestions:
Unfortunately, the second tour began late, so I didn’t spend as much time at the stops as I wanted to. But in the end, we got through all the planned activities.

I did a compare and contrast with Georgia O’Keeffe’s poppy painting and Cai’s poppy piece. Interesting observations.

I toured today with two great third-grade groups from a Mandarin-focused school. The first group consisted entirely of boys (which I love), and the second was 50/50. Both groups were articulate, curious, and engaged throughout the tour. I explained the concept of observation and also explained that we would be learning how to examine Cai’s work closely to try to determine his purpose and understand what he was trying to say.

After introductions in the garden, which included an observation activity, we proceeded to Palmyra where the students engaged in close-looking at the work. After sharing their observations, I introduced an activity of “jumping into” the work. They noted what they saw, heard, smelled, and felt while immersed in the Palmyra environment and shared their observations with the group. The first group was very interested in Palmyra’s history and the concept of destruction over time and through natural forces (one boy also added that Palmyra’s latest destruction was caused by humans).

Next in Palmyra, I asked students to use their imaginations and jump into the work and note what they saw, heard, smelled, and how they felt in that place. Both groups were very thoughtful and openly shared.

Following our visit to Palmyra, we moved to Gallery 6 (Pyramid), where students explored the work independently and then shared their thoughts, questions, and observations. Before examining Fetus Movement II: Project for ETs No. 9, I demonstrated to the students how to locate their heartbeat on their neck and had them count and record their beats per minute (BPM). Then, we ran in place for about 30 seconds, rechecked our pulse rate, and recorded the results. We discussed the difference between the two recordings and explored the reasons behind it (resting vs. elevated heart rate). We then examined Cai’s heart rate diagram and discussed the probable causes, including stress, fear, and anxiety. 

Finally, in the permanent collection gallery, we looked at the mandala and the oracle bones. With the first group, I distributed a graphic of Chinese writing forms and representations, thinking it would take them a bit of time to complete. I was wrong! It took about 10 seconds! Needless to say, I did not do this with the second group!

With both groups and the remaining time we had left, we went through the rest of the galleries and examined the work, asking and answering questions.

Reflection (what would you do differently?):
I don’t think I would have done anything differently. Both groups were engaged, curious, and responsive.

Today was a bilingual group, I started out from the garden, checking in with the group with some ice breaker like greeting them in Chinese and asking them several questions. Then I asked them what they expected to see today, turned out they were expecting to see our old permanent collections, so I have to manage their expectations by introducing them to the artist and the medium he uses. From introducing gun powder as a source of casting away ancient monster, I asked them to hunt for a different creature that also protects and is a symbol of royalty and prosperity- the dragon. I allowed them about 5 minutes or so to spread out and count the dragons in the courtyard, the kids were very excited they get to run around a bit and compete to see who got the most count. Then I settle them down and introduced our court yard a bit and then went into the first gallery, the one directly across from the gift shop. This exercise is great for younger kids as they either were sat on the bus for a long period of time or had been sitting for a long period of time upstairs. So it allows them to let loose a bit and you can also see how the group will behave and respond as a whole.

We sat in front of the poppy artwork, I am big on visual so in my tour I always incorporate some form of video to explain what the artist do, today I found a video on how Cai prep his work from sketch to finish. It is about a 10 minutes video. I would pause in between and ask them questions, like why did he use that long stick with a pen at the end, what is the purpose of that, what would you have done etc. I find that at this age audio visual really explains a whole lot more of his work, and seeing that in action was very exciting for them. After that I hand out paper and clip board and ask them to draw what Cai had intended his flower to look like. I discovered there were many young artists in the group. I prefer using my own video sauce than relying on the video in the gallery is because it loops and I can never tell which part of it that we will be watching. Having my own gives me more control.

After this fun activity we head to the Pyramid, they again sat down and since they are in bilingual class, some can read the writing on the canvas. I had them guess what are the things astronauts saw when they  look down on earth from space. This also received many interesting answers, I asked them individually what they would want to see if they themselves were in space. Sometimes I had them draw out the image on the clip board.

We then head to the adjacent gallery and we studied the porcelain flower. A vote on if they like the original version or the tempered version. I find that older kids like the gun powder version vs young kids like the original one. 

For the second group we did not head to the Pyramid but instead we went into the room where the Pray for Protection is. They did not seem to be bothered by the images and were having lively conversations about what war, lives, and the meaning of peace (dove) in the artwork which I was very impressed. A little history lesson never hurt.

After all I think the tour was successful, this age group is very engaged the entire time so don’t be afraid to tour them, they many times are so eager to speak than most of the middle school kids…..
Also having name tags on them helps a lot, you can often call a student by name to get a respond. They also appreciate you remembering who they are.