With new exhibitions opening on Sept 4, the Albany Museum of Art reminds educators that they can schedule free field trips to the museum.

“Art inspires, and the positive experience of it is essential to life,” AMA Executive Director Andrew James Wulf, Ph.D., said. “Young children learn how to communicate and express themselves using art. Art fosters critical-thinking skills and challenges us to consider new ideas and different perspectives, and it is an essential component of a well-rounded education. We hope schools will take advantage of this opportunity to enrich their students’ education.”

This fall, the field trips will incorporate one or more of three exhibitions: Echoes of the Past, with African art spanning three galleries; A Legacy Built with Nature: Menaboni at 130, featuring works by renowned bird and nature artist Athos Menaboni, and Framing Time, featuring photography from the AMA’s permanent collection.

The free field trips, funded through generous donations made during the Wayne & Alicia Gregory Family Foundation Paddle Raise at the AMA’s annual Art Ball, are a cost-effective way for schools to provide students with art experiences in a time when their budgets are continually being squeezed.

Based on data collected from 2001 to 2018, a National Endowment for the Arts report earlier this year titled Snapshots of Arts Education in Childhood and Adolescence: Access and 

Outcomes found that:

• At-home arts engagement of toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners was positively correlated with a variety of social-emotional attributes and cognitive outcomes.
• Participation in out-of-school arts activities was positively correlated with many social-emotional attributes and academic outcomes for children from kindergarten through 5th grade.
• Among high schoolers, arts participation was positively correlated with social-emotional attributes during 9th grade, while arts course completion was linked with greater academic achievement, high school graduation, and post-graduation outcomes.

“The benefits that exposure to visual art and other arts have are clear,” Director of Education and Public Programming Annie Van Oteghem said. “It helps children and youth perform better in school and helps prepare them for their futures in whatever careers they pursue.”
Van Oteghem said schools are already scheduling visits for their classes.

“We have had an outstanding amount of interest, and quite a few dates are locked in,” she said. “The calendar is filling up pretty quickly.”

School officials and teachers can schedule field trips at the AMA by visiting www.albanymuseum.com/learn/educator-resources/ and using the link under “Schedule Online.”

“The AMA webpage also has resource information such as things you need to know before your visit, chaperone guidelines, and answers to frequently asked questions,” Van Oteghem said. “Teachers can also download the field trip packet.”

Field trips at the AMA are conducted Tuesdays through Fridays and include a gallery tour, discussion, and an art project. The visit typically is two hours long. The earliest start time is 10 am (with students’ arrival at 9:45 am) and the latest start time is 2:30 pm.

Teachers or school officials with questions can contact Van Oteghem at [email protected] or call her at 229.439.8400.