Addendum: I forgot to mention one of the most rewarding moments of the tour. After the activity with Canvas to the Moon, I asked the students if they had noticed something odd on the “moon/eye.” They hadn’t. I pointed out the orange “dot” on the image and asked if they had any idea what it might be? One student looked intently at the spot, and I saw her mind mulling it over. Finally, she offered that it may be a volcano. I said, “Hmmm, a volcano.” She continued, “Perhaps it was a volcano exploding on earth.” She indicated that it may be like the volcano they had seen earlier (Ascending Dragon) and that since we were viewing from the moon, perhaps Cai was right in thinking that one could see an explosion on earth from the moon.

Today, I toured with a group of eager and delightful third-grade students. Before beginning our tour, I handed out clipboards with stapled sheets of paper (one lined and two plain) and pencils. After explaining the norms for time together, we proceeded to Gallery 5 with the instructions that they were to observe the objects alone and jot down any questions, thoughts, or wonderings they had about the works in the gallery. After about 4 minutes we gathered together to share the observations. Student questions varied from “Who did these?” to “I see lots of shapes and dirt”. Good conversation followed.

After sharing that Cai’s work was part artistic and part science and discussing some of the science they were doing in class, we talked about the Pyramid piece in terms of shapes, purpose, and why he may have written all over some of the work. I then asked them to draw a peanut butter sandwich on one of the blank sheets (2 minutes). I then asked them to describe on their paper the steps to making that sandwich (2 minutes). Some shared their steps. I explained that the writing on the work in the gallery was, in fact, Cai’s thought processes about his work.

As we continued through the galleries, they took notes of things of interest and asked appropriate and probing questions. At the timeline of Cai’s work, the noted that Sky Ladder was made around the time of their births and wanted to know what it was. Explain the premise of Sky Ladder, some noticed that it was available on Netflix and wrote that down.

At Canvas of the Moon, I asked the students to “jump into the picture” and write down what they saw, heard, and smelled (2 minutes). They then shared, and I had them close their eyes and describe where they were. This time, no one mentioned a “cat”!

Visited the Mandala which, in some ways, brought a lot of concepts together for them.

This was a small group so we only had one tour at 10 AM.

Beginning the tour in Gallery 5 works well for younger students because they enjoy the art/science discussion. It was apparent that the students had done pre-visit work, which helped to further their understanding. The second group was more engaged and responsive to the discussions. For Canvas on the Moon I used the pair-share strategy to have them imagine where they were and note what they saw, heard, felt, and smelled. The groups then shared out their thoughts and revealed where the imagined they were.

I need to rethink pen-to-paper activities (drawing etc) in the galleries. Since the students are doing wonderful art activities upstairs, I am not sure that these types of activities are beneficial in this instance.

I would like clarification on whether Lonnie will continue doing the introduction, norms, etc., with the students. If so, I will not have to do that part of the tour, and the time will be added back to the actual tour. Also, can thought be given to allowing the first tour to begin before taking the students upstairs for artmaking?

In preparation for understanding AI:
I let students carry a small clipboard and on that jot answers to questions like:
If you could ask Cai a question, what would you ask?
What are some of the different substraits Cai used?
(One question answer per gallery)
When we got to the Hercules gallery, I asked them to draw something: favorite animal, favorite sport, etc. etc. After a discussion of AI, I asked them what would I get if I fed all their drawings and words into a computer. I explained AI Cai and then told them we would get to see what happened when Cai did this. They were excited to see and entered the AI room with a “Wow!”
For group 2 I did a calming breathing exercise before beginning the tour which worked well to ground them.

Reflection: Be more conscious of time in each gallery.

Everyone needs to be conscious of the time limit in each gallery to avoid bottle necks.

After noticing a different energy level in previous tours after the first groups were finished touring or art-making upstairs, I decided to engage my group with a brief relaxation activity (based on Qigong principles). Eiko decided that she would join us. The students seemed to enjoy this, and my group was noticeably more settled and attentive. Both groups were engaged and open to discussion. I found that engaging them in “wondering” about objects prompted them to open up and ask some interesting and curious questions. They enjoyed discussing the connections between art and science.

I was delighted with both of the tours.

I would encourage others to take a few minutes before the second tour to settle the students (perhaps a stroll around the garden, breathing exercises, or walking to the parking lot to view the mural). 
Can we know what the art activity will be before the day of the tour? Someone could introduce an activity that is very similar to what the artist will be doing, thereby missing an opportunity to do something different.

“The Return to Darkness” video and artwork are always the hit. When I took them to PAM Collection room, one student immediately pointed out that “Cloisonne Mandala” is what Cai made for “The Return to Darkness”.
Before taking students to AI room, students draw their version of “The Canvas On The Moon”. After finish drawing I took them to show Cai’s version of “The Canvas On The Moon” and ask the differences between their drawing and Cai’s artwork. After they identify the difference, I told them that “the different parts of your drawing is your creativity”. I did the same drawing yesterday, and one student was hesitant to show her drawing, but when I explain that difference is your creativity, she proudly showed her drawing to us (cute!).

Students truly enjoy seeing Cai’s artworks. They all truly feel something. Sometime students struggle to express because they cannot find the right words to express their feelings (their feeling surpass their vocabulary). Such a joy to see them working hard to come up with the right words.