Arts Midwest World Fest

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Welcome Message

I. Background

II. Music

III. Mexican Culture

IV. Here and Now

V. Community Connections

This curriculum was written by Jeanne Paliatka and Olaf Nelson for Arts Midwest.

Part 4: The Student Curator Project

Overview:
To display their newly gained knowledge of Mexico, students can create exhibits from the perspective of a museum curator striving to highlight the richness and diversity of Mexico's people and culture.

Objectives:
Students will be introduced to the terminology of museum exhibits.
Students will consider the importance of objectivity in creating an exhibit.
Students will create and display an exhibit that highlights some aspect of Mexican culture.
Students will create one program related to the exhibit.

Grade Level:
Depending on the depth of the assignment, upper elementary to high school

Time Required:
Three to four class periods

Materials:
Virtual museum
Additional materials will vary depending on the type of exhibit students choose to create

Procedure:

Ideally, students would be introduced to the idea of museum exhibits by visiting a museum to analyze the components of an exhibit or by inviting a curator to the classroom to discuss these issues. Since this is not always possible, a virtual tour of an exhibit or examining museum catalogues are good alternatives.
The essential components of an exhibit that students would benefit from understanding are:

Research
Display
Labeling
Related Programming (optional)
Objectivity

Although these seem straightforward, they are rather difficult to do thoroughly, accurately, concisely, and objectively. Examining professional exhibits and catalogues will help students to get a sense of the requirements. Choosing an exhibit that interests them would be beneficial. The Field Museum of Natural History hosted a travelling exhibit called The Art of the Motorcycle that was very popular with students and has an excellent catalogue. Other exhibits on popular culture, contemporary art, dinosaurs, or diamonds would also work well. Choosing an exhibit of objects with which students are familiar will make it easier for them to understand the components of the exhibit. See the museums listed in the resources section, below.

Students should divide into groups, and each group should brainstorm a topic around which to build their exhibit. Topics should be manageable yet not so narrow that they are limiting. Once a topic is selected, and students decide how they want to approach the topic, each person in the group could choose the component of the exhibit for which he or she is responsible. Each student will be required to research individually but the presentation should be created as a group. If students are exhibiting a topic with which they are already familiar, the research may not be as time-consuming. To ensure a balanced and accurate exhibit, students should use a variety of sources, both electronic and print.

The end result of this project will be a museum exhibit presented either as a Power Point presentation, a Web site, or a physical exhibit, which could be mounted in the library, resource room or classroom. If the school has a large open space or gallery, this would work well. The sources of all information in the presentation, whether paraphrased or quoted directly, must be properly cited. All images should be credited and labelled. All sections should fit together cohesively. Most sections of the presentation should include images.

Suggested topics include anything contained within this curriculum, such as Day of the Dead, indigenous peoples, immigration, foods, architecture, or musical instruments.
Other topics not developed in this curriculum would also be suitable, such as monarch butterfly migration to Mexico, Frida Kahlo's artwork, volcanos, the Mayan calendar, La Quinceañera (the celebration girls experience at the age of fifteen), Cinqo de Mayo, the ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico, the Mayans' expertise in math, plants or animals native to Mexico, Mexican dances, soccer teams of Mexico, different varieties of cactus growing in Mexico, etc.

Extensions:
Depending on time available, students could

plan and execute one program related to their exhibit, which might involve the rest of the class

create a catalogue for their exhibit

invite parents to attend the "opening" of the exhibits

invite a community member with expertise in the topic of the exhibit to give a "guest lecture"

partner with a local organization, such as a community center, to present the best exhibits

Resources:
(Links will open in new windows.)

Resources will vary based on the topic. Listed below are a few sites related to some of the suggested topics. Students will be able to find many, many more.

Searching for museum in Google or another search engine will provide an almost endless list of museum Web sites from around the world.

Mexico

V: COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

Part 4: The Student Curator Project