With its free Family Art & Storytelling program, Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill has been capturing the imagination of young children, encouraging them to become artists and connoisseurs in their own right, writes David Matthau for WHYY.
The program includes reading a story and looking at a work of art that may have similarities with each other.
“You are exposed to different artists, maybe different styles, different mediums, sculptures, and as you take in that information, you’re also finding things about art that relate to you,” said instructor Ginger Mimmo Rohlfing.
The interactive nature of the program, where children can use their natural ability to explore and create relationships with the artworks, is key for the children to have their love of art nurtured.
“They learn how to explore materials and to respond to their own images and know what they want to add next,” she said. “It is about them exploring their imagination and having the opportunity and the freedom to do that,” said Hildy Tow, the museum’s curator of education.
That can then have a positive effect on their confidence and creativity, and according to Rohlfing, help develop critical thinking skills.
Read more about how Woodmere Art Museum forges young people’s appreciation for works of art in WHYY.
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