Kohl Children's Museum

In the art studio, I noticed that children, despite their young age, are extremely creative. In fact, I realized that children don't carry the filters in their brains that adults do of what they are allowed to create and what not, so they create things more freely and uniquely.When interacting, I noticed that children tend to sometimes use somewhat complex words to describe their creations. Because they have been exposed to those words, they are learning to incorporate it into their art. With words such as machine or gear they are making their creations more significant in their eyes. When they do this, I have found that it is impactful when you encourage them to think deeper. A lot of times, the children don’t know exactly what those words mean, so asking them what it means and encouraging them to understand it correctly not only helps them understand complex words, but it also helps them connect it or remove it in relation to whatever they are creating.

 

In one of the pictures above, I am helping a child play with the loose parts exhibit that I set up. Loose Parts is meant to encourage independent unique thoughts, but it is also important that children understand what they’re looking at. I am helping this child understand how the shadow figures work, but then I allow her to use them in the way that she wants

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At this internship, not only did I have the opportunity to teach kids art, but I also got to make some of my own. Every Tuesday we would have art activities with the education team. It was a great opportunity to try new forms of art and also bond with the education team. In this photo, I am tearing up colorful sheets to make my own paper!

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As you can see one of the above picture  there is another example of the different art I got to try out. I was able to use the pottery wheel and learn how it worked. Using this experience, I then taught kids how to use the wheel and experiment with different methods in the Art Studio.

 

Make your own Dream World Lesson Plan:

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Process art focuses on the journey taken by the child to get to a certain piece of art. In this form of art, the child is granted much more freedom and is allowed to take risks and create something solely fueled by their own vision and creative thoughts. Product art focuses on the end goal and doesn’t allow creativity, learning, and risk taking to occur during the process. This activity is set up in a way where children can understand exactly what they’re creating. Each and every part is explained to them. I then introduce materials by playing with them and demonstrating how they work in real life. Often, the materials used are open ended ones that don’t only serve one purpose and can be utilized to create anything the child permits through their imagination.

 

My experience implementing my lesson plan was wonderful. I was a little nervous going into the Studio about how the children would react, but several kids were interested in the process of designing a dream world.. They went through the process of creating different designs and understanding the planning, ideation, and research behind designing and creating something. It did happen the way I planned as children understood different things they could make, how important vocabulary was, and also the importance of certain decisions. The next time I have an opportunity to create something like this, I want to have just a little more structure. It was important to give the kids freedom, but it may have been valuable to emphasize the steps of thinking, drawing, and making a little more. I am still happy with the lesson because once the kids made their products, I explained the process it took for them to get to that stage. Time in the Art Studio allowed me to better handle when a child wasn’t interested or wanted to be left alone. I wouldn’t keep prying, but I would also nudge them and ask a question every now and then. During my lesson, I remembered the important aspect of letting a child be. There are the children who want guidance, children who need some time to warm up to you, and the children who want to do things at their own pace. It is important to respect all of the different types.

 

I feel good about the fact that I am spreading the love for art to young minds. As a kid, I always remember loving the people who would help me make new things and also teach me cool new things. Getting able to be on the other side of that makes me extremely proud. I am excited to learn more about how a child's mind works. A child's mind is fresh and the future of our world, so I am excited to hopefully participate in nurturing that mind and in the process, learning how it works. I think one thing I learned to get over is the intimidation factor of talking to children. I am an extrovert and even for me it can be difficult striking a conversation. Children are brutally honest and sometimes parents may seem uninviting. But I have started to become more comfortable approaching, and even if things don’t work out, reflecting on why that might have happened, and improving for next time has been an important skill I have cultivated.

 

In total, Kohl Children’s museum has been an eye-opening experience for me, and one that I will remember for the rest of my life. The skills of approaching new children (and parents), along with this being the first ever workplace experience for me make this internship special and important to me. I wouldn't take anything back or wish anything was different because when I came into the Museum for the first time, I didn’t know what to expect. This was a new, and unexpected experience for me, which makes it a valuable one. I was able to learn how children’s minds work, how the exhibits are designed, and in total, what it feels like to have the responsibility of a job. So I wouldn’t change a thing. There are so many things I am proud of doing and learning during this internship. One such thing is patience. Every aspect of the job requires patience.  Teaching the kids, helping them learn, and even doing these reflections requires careful, patient working. I think I have really shone in that category. Being an Art Studio Intern has taught me so many important things that I will carry into other chapters of my life.