Libby Cluett, Public Programs Manager
Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
(817) 989-5033
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www.cartermuseum.org

Movement: Action in Art Family Guide
The guide was created in collaboration with students at the Applied Learning
Academy: two 6th grade students, three 7th grade students, and one 8th grade
student. It was available when the museum reopened (after a period of
reconstruction and renovation) in 2001; was used for four years and is now
retired.
They also have an Art Walking in the Cultural District family guide that focuses on
outdoor sculpture. Available on the web.

Some general thoughts shared by Libby about family guides:

• When working in collaboration with kids, it is important to define the roles of what the kids will do and what they will not do.
• Writing was not easy for all of them and it was hard to create a document that sounded as if it had one voice. However, they did a very good job critiquing and advising if you gave them the options. They were able to articulate what they liked best and why if they had concrete examples. They were also able to give good feedback on vocabulary (education staff found that the language they used often went over kids’ heads so they needed to be more clear).
• Working together was not easy for the students; kids at this age have significantly different social dynamics and developmental skills from year to year. The sixth graders were the most enthusiastic about the project. The 8th grade student was also enthusiastic, but had a busy schedule. The seventh graders were a little tough because they were cliquish, something that often happens at this age.
• Creating guides that were fun was important (example of fun: having clues that you would need to use to find the next work of art).
• Kids can grasp a theme (such as animals in art) better than a greatest hits approach.
• Kids were able to test activities with their class and get feedback; they also presented their project at the Texas Association of Museums conference, which was a great success.
• Printed family guides are not as flexible due to art objects moving in galleries, so much of family resources is spent on programs and handson art carts; interested in using technology for future guides.

• The guide is available at the information desk, but families are offered it by the visitor services staff or they can ask for it; it is too costly to have out to take like a brochure. Docents and teachers use the guide too.
• The guide was created because a Saturday morning program held once a month (Young at Art) for 2 hours for 20 families became very popular and was always overenrolled. So, the guide was created to offer an alternate activity, as well as for the many tourists that visit.
• When developing the guide, adults in family groups were randomly asked what they would want in a family guide and the top request was more information about the art object, the artist, and a way to create a dialogue. The kids asked just wanted to see lots of things.
• When cards were written (but before the final printing), the activities were tested with teachers, museum educators, and school groups.
• Some of the goals for the cards include: parents and children having a dialogue; open-ended questions that cannot be answered with a yes or no; including things that they could find; asking why questions; having the kids use imagination with components like “tell a story”; asking
• questions that connect to their own lives; and having a good time together while learning skills that can be used when looking at art in museums.
• When writing the cards, Diane was influenced the most by teaching experiences. Also used VTS (visual thinking strategies) research when choosing works (for example, choosing works that lend themselves to narratives since beginning art viewers often create narratives, or stories,
• when looking at art). Paintings and sculptures also were chosen over installations since many times those pieces are more temporary.
• Have found that cards work well because families can create their own tours, pass out the cards to everyone in the group, etc….
• Got around the problem of objects moving in galleries by just coding the cards as blue for inside objects and green for outside objects.

• Because of the large number of visitors, family guides are rarely available in the galleries. They can be requested at the information desk
• Family guides are done for specific exhibitions if appropriate for the age in terms of content, also in terms of logistics and security (i.e. there is not room for formal group tours, so small groups can better use family guides in the space).
• The website connection is something fairly recent so the guides can be used at the museum or at home. It makes it more interactive and exciting, as well as accessible for the family who lives in Kansas and is not coming to New York City to see the exhibition.
• Some guides fold out to a poster, which adds to the expense, but it can be hung up at home and bridges the experience from museum to homes.
• The guides are created to help make families independent viewers, hoping parents pay attention to what kinds of questions are being asked so when guides are not available, they have a comfort zone, some experience about how to look at art in a museum.
• Uses works in permanent collection so they can be reused.
• Many families request the family guides.
• No formal evaluation, but have had the staff informally interview families using the guides. They also have family program regulars test the guides.
• The content is often inspired by teaching experiences – what questions are asked in tours, etc… The more teaching you can do, the more you can pare down what are the best questions, best information.
• Has found that three is the magic number of objects for a family guide – perfect amount of time to go from the information desk to any exhibition space, time to read questions and text, chat, look, and go home.
• Tries to include images of both males and females, if applicable.
• Three to four questions in front of each work of art is the limit (1-2 is just tip of iceberg, too many and they lose interest).
• Ask questions that require visitors to look or think in fundamentals of art (something visual that helps them consider that concepts such as composition, color, brushstrokes are an important part of a work of art).
• Begin with questions about what they see, the third or fourth question can be more abstract, asking them about specific aspects of the work of art and what they can tell from them. (example: in a portrait, there are books on the table next to the person and the question might be, what do those books tell them about that person?).
• Keep the text brief and make sure that it connects with the object
• If there are questions asked that have specific answers, make sure the answers are in the text.
• Include the website and other ways to find information such as audio guides, books, etc…
• Some guides include an activity, such as drawing, or a project that can be done at home using inexpensive, readily available objects; some guides have more of a question format.