Today I had two delightful tours with first-grade students! Using Yvonne’s recent idea about dragons in the courtyard, I crafted a tour around the concept of dragons. Since they were first-graders, reading Nian was appropriate. I began in the Crossroads gallery by asking what they knew about dragons and whether they had ever celebrated Chinese New Year. Then I read the story and had the students add sound effects (quiet noise). At the point in the story when Mei discovers that the Nian doesn’t like the color red, I passed out red scarves for everyone to carry for the rest of the tour (since we needed protection against any dragons we came upon).

Before leaving the Crossroads, I told the students that we would be going on a dragon hunt. I taught them the rhyme “Going on a Bear (Dragon) Hunt,” which we repeated each time we began a new journey, and explained their assignment: to hunt dragons in the galleries!

We started in Room 5, where they looked for a dragon that might be hiding. Both groups eventually guessed that the dragon was hiding beneath the mountain of the Ascending Dragon. They referred to the story as their evidence. We then discussed the drawing itself, the materials, and the word ascending. Some even found the dragon on the surface of the mountain.

On to the next hunt (Going on a dragon hunt …). Room 6, where they quickly found the dragon (Study for Seven-Headed Dragons). We discussed the materials used, including colored gunpowder, and debated the number of dragons to add to our count (1 versus 7). We stopped at the materials case and discussed the various surfaces and how they were affected by fire, among other things.

Dragon Hunt continued to Canvas on the Moon and The Annunciation of cAITM, in Room 9. Students were asked to discover dragons within the two works on their own. They drew their discoveries, counted, and shared.

The hunt ended in the garden, where the students discovered dragons throughout, keeping a running total. Of course, being first graders, the counts were not precisely accurate, but there were far more dragons than I thought possible in our galleries/garden.

Reflection (what would you do differently?):
The tour worked well with its central theme being something the students were interested in and familiar with. The story of Nian was engaging. I tried to point out during the reading, clues that they could use when engaging with the work in the galleries. 
I don’t think that I would do much differently. The students were engaged, curious, followed directions easily, and enjoyed themselves.

Comments & Suggestions:
I suggest that we discuss taking a short break between the two tours at some point. 
Today, the students (and adults) were given a few moments to use the restroom, take a breath, etc., and I think it made a difference in the second group’s focus. I don’t think anyone mentioned the word “lunch” throughout the second tour!

Perhaps we could consider starting the second tour at 11:15 and concluding it at 12:15. Just a thought.

The two tours today were a lot of fun. The kids were smart, curious, imaginative and clearly comfortable with each other, so virtually everyone participated. I started out telling them i wanted to tell a story that is a bit scary (they were up for it) and launched into the story of Nian. The part about children being eaten gave a thrill. The connection to fireworks, and then to Cai’s hometown, gave some context to his art. We watched the Return to Darkness video and then discussed art v science, and experimentation. I emphasized the goal for the day, was to ask questions, use imagination and have fun. The kids had paper and pencil throughout and drew, took notes and so forth without much prompting. We made a stop at the Silk Road camel for the teacher to take pics. And lingered at the Pyramid and Annunciation. The kids really set the flow.

Reflection (what would you do differently?):
As noted, the kids set the flow really via their interest/enthusiasm so it was easy and fun for me.

Comments & Suggestions:
I was thinking a little snack between sessions might help keep the kid’s energy up for the second tour. they were definitely ready for lunch.

And I wish all touring students had name tags (that don’t fall off) like these kids had.

I had two great tours today with second graders! I didn’t even have to adjust from one to the next. I tried an activity that had been rolling around in my head. We discussed the art/science connection with Cai’s work. I had them experiment with their heartbeat (pulse on the neck): count the resting beats for 15 seconds and record on the clipboard. Then, they ran in place for about 1.5 minutes and counted the beats (15 seconds). We discussed the difference, increase/decrease, and what would have accounted for that increase. They gave examples such as fear, activity, nervousness, etc. We then watched the video of Cai sitting in the middle of the explosion (Fetus Movement II: Project for ETs No.9. I explained the process he went through to record his body’s reactions and then showed them the electrocardiogram/seismogram and discussed the results. 

At the Annunciation, I had the students choose one of the panels to study and determine if they could find an animal, person, etc., within the panel. They then drew what they envisioned on their clipboard and shared it aloud.

Finally, at Palmyra, I asked the students to divide one of their papers into four sections and label them: See, Hear, Smell, and Feel. They then “jumped” into the work and, proceeding one by one, recorded their reaction to each sense. The interesting responses include “feeling lonely,” “hearing loud explosions,” “smelling smoke,” and “seeing dust.” They all had some very astute responses to this work. I asked one group what they thought the artist was trying to say, and one boy thought that he was trying to show that war and destruction are not good.

We ended with the Return to Darkness and the construction/deconstruction/reconstruction of the Mandala.

Reflection (what would you do differently?):
This was such a good tour, and I don’t think I’d do anything differently.

Comments & Suggestions:
My fellow docents today, Eiko, Jeanne, and Randy, were great and seemed to enjoy their tours. Lonnie, as usual, ran a smooth and tight ship. Thanks to all.

My experience was the tale of two tours! The first group was engaged, knowledgeable, curious, and full of ideas, which they were eager to share. The second group was hungry! The timing on this tour worked well. We began promptly at 10:00 and were able to make it through efficiently.
These were second-grade students.
Our discussions were engaging with both groups. They all seemed very interested in the science/art connection.
The first group was fascinated by how the explosions affected the substrates. The second group, not so much. They seemed to prefer wandering so I let them explore when possible. This group(2) was particularly fascinated by the stencils. I did a quick visual by tearing a hole in a piece of paper and using a pencil to shade in the hole, producing a filled-in circle on the blank paper substrate.

I think with the second group, I might have used Bob’s idea of giving them pencil/paper early on. (I’m not sure they were ready for that amount of independence.) Before beginning, we did some movement in the garden but it didn’t help. There was little to be done once it was announced that they were hungry.li

Both groups were fascinated by Palmyra, so I’d like to learn more about the work and how to tour it with primary students. Any ideas would be appreciated.

I toured with Bob and Fran, and we all used a counterclockwise scheme rather than the overlapping routes. The kids were enthusiastic and curious. I started in Room 11, and had a discussion (what is art? What is science? Have you done experiments -like trying ketchup on a hot dog? and what does it mean when art and science collide?). I used the science/experimentation framing as we viewed the art. We then watched the Return to Darkness (mandala) video which they enjoed, and were particulary captured by the resulting art versus the original layout. I borrowed Bob’s idea of giving the kids something to write/draw on early in the tour for their notes/sketches. Having that in hand seemed to improve their engagement and each room kicked off a new flurry of activity for most. For the Ascending Dragon work, none of the kids saw a dragon, so I again borrowed from Bob and had them draw their vision of a dragon. Canvas on the Moon generated a lot of discussion, particularly what animal’s eye was looking back at them.

During the Ascending Dragon discussion some kids saw a volcano, and took pride in naming countries that had them. Similarly, in Inverted Pyramid, I referenced Egypt, but the teacher/kids took pride in mentioning that pyramids are in Mexico, Guatamala, etc. I will be better informed next time.

I liked moving all the tours in one direction.

See tour from 10/16

Excellent tour.

Toy drum, story book of Nian, material package works very well with little kids. They learn well with things they can touch.

I did not use the laminated photos because the videos on display explained better.

Loved the videos in Room 1. Lots of curiosity.

Drawing the moon did not go so well. I probably didn’t get the idea across.