An Inquiry Based Gallery Education Program for the Honolulu Academy of Arts

Abstract

The writer, while leisurely browsing through Gallery One at the Honolulu Academy of Arts one afternoon, encountered a group of lower elementary age school children on a gallery tour. The children were learning about Impressionism from Mrs. Robinson, a guide at the museum. Here is a portion from her talk which the writer recorded in briefhand that day. Children, this painting was done by a man named Claude Monet. Claude Monet was a Frenchman, Let's say his name together. Claude Monet. That was very good! Can anyone tell me what he or she sees in this painting? (pause) Yes! That's right. Claude Monet painted a pond filled with water lilies. In fact, he called this painting "Water Lilies.” Claude Monet painted this same subject over and over again at different times of the day. He was interested in how the sun's position in the sky affected the way things looked. Artists, like Monet, who are interested in light and color changes are called Impressionistic painters. They catch a fleeting impression and record it. Mrs. Robinson lectured on and on, moving from one gallery to the next. The writer, spellbound by her informative talk, almost failed to notice how bored and exhausted the children looked. Their weary appearance reminded the writer of a passage from the book, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. (p. 105) "Sarah looks like paraoh. Pass it on." "When are we gonna eat?" "Man, what a lot of walking."