For Schools
For Schools
The Contemporary Austin’s school programs support our mission to educate and inspire a diverse audience about the visual arts. In response to Austin’s substantive growth in the past twenty years, the museum continues to address the growing needs of Austin’s students, teachers, and schools through a variety of initiatives. Our education department meets regularly with AISD to ensure that its programs are consistent with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for visual art.
Also, see how Austin's Blanton Elementary students get inspired by nature and create watercolors based on the art on view during their self-guided tour of Laguna Gloria.
Seeing Special Things
The Contemporary Austin’s year-long, multiple-visit program, Seeing Special Things, is the museum’s longest-running educational initiative. Offered to public elementary schools in Austin, with a focus on Title 1 schools (schools with low-income enrollment of 75 percent or more), this program is designed to integrate visual art into the classroom and enhance student literacy, critical thinking, observation, and communication skills through museum visits, classroom discussions, artist workshops, and art making.
Seeing Special Things introduces students to original works of contemporary art, a range of media and processes, and related vocabulary for the purpose of broadening students’ understanding of artistic concepts, increasing comprehension of visual vocabulary, developing art-making skills, and building student self-confidence and communication skills.
Want your school to be a part of this multi-visit experience?
LEARN MORE ABOUT SEEING SPECIAL THINGS
APPLY NOW FOR 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR
Contact Sarah Chestnut, Senior Manager of Learning & Interpretation, at schestnut@thecontemporaryaustin.org for more information.
Thank you to the 2022-2023 Seeing Special Things participating schools!
Boone Elementary, 4th grade
Galindo Elementary, 3rd grade
Govalle Elementary, 2nd grade
Graham Elementary, 4th grade
Pleasant Hill Elementary, 4th grade
Wooten Elementary, 4th grade
View photo gallery: Seeing Special Things 2020-2021
View photo gallery: Seeing Special Things 2019-2020
The Contemporary Austin is the proud recipient of Impact Austin's 2017 Community Partner grant in the area of Culture! This transformative $80,600 grant was awarded in support of Seeing Special Things. Learn more here.
School Tours
The Contemporary Austin’s friendly and knowledgeable volunteer docents are available to lead age-appropriate, fun, and interactive tours of Laguna Gloria and the Jones Center on Congress Avenue. Tours may be booked for either location at any time during school hours, Tuesday through Friday. Contact us to learn more about building a tour experience for your group! For more information or to book a tour, please contact tours@thecontemporaryaustin.org.
Check out this virtual field trip to Laguna Gloria featuring works of art currently on view! Ms. Tipton from Casey Elementary School in Austin ISD shares her visit to the sculpture park and includes some open-ended questions to consider while exploring.
Art Lab
Art Lab is a hands-on art-making experience available to all tours at The Contemporary Austin. Tour groups are invited to experiment with media, techniques, and ideas in conjunction with the exploration of the works of art on view. Participants will make art to take home inspired by their visit to the museum. For more information or to book a tour, please contact tours@thecontemporaryaustin.org.