Upcoming exhibition to feature STEAM elements
The Huntsville Museum of Art and the Huntsville Museum of Art Docent Association will be holding a Gallery Walk and Opening Reception Sun., Nov. 17 from 2 – 4 p.m. for FULL STEAM AHEAD! Featuring works from the Museum’s permanent collection, FULL STEAM AHEAD!, will focus on elements from science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. The exhibition will feature various pieces from the collection that include wildlife, interactive mechanical parts, the use of man-made tools and objects, mathematical patterns and more.
According to Candace Bean, the Education Associate, the exhibition brings together STEAM pieces to inspire students to explore the different disciplines. She said the exhibit will allow the viewer to see the overlap between the different disciplines and how art can be used in each of them.
“STEAM is an educational approach to learning which encourages student inquiry, dialogue and critical thinking.” Bean said.
Laura E. Smith, the Director of Education and Museum Academy said “It is also a way for students to explore the different disciplines by looking at art by not only utilizing the basic elements of art – color, line, shape and texture, but also exploring these different disciplines of STEAM and how they apply overall in one’s education.”
According to Smith, members of the Docent Association hand-selected the pieces featured in the exhibition to provide audiences with a broad variety of the STEAM disciplines.
“The docents have been working very hard. They have also done additional research on the pieces that are going to be in the exhibition. That information will be shared with student tour groups and adult tours. In addition to the text panels, we will also have Guide by Cell recordings to highlight the works in the exhibition and give more in-depth information,” Smith said.
According to Bean, the exhibition ties into some of the themes and topics already being addressed in education today.
“The chair of our docent program this year, Wendy Yang, this was her vision. She wanted to do a docent-curated exhibition, and it just fit with what was going on in education right now. STEAM is an initiative to enhance knowledge and interest for students in these different disciplines and to just make it more exciting and interdisciplinary,” Bean said.
The exhibition will also pair with some of the educational classes and programs that are already in place at the museum to coincide with the exhibition.
“We will have a Girl Scout Art Museum Day program on Sat. Jan. 25 called Art Set in Motion. We will be exploring STEAM and those different disciplines. We will be taking a tour of the exhibition and will be creating a work of art that will explore different engineering components and an art component.” Smith said.
Following the opening reception on Nov. 17, FULL STEAM AHEAD! will remain open until Feb. 23.
Bean and Smith said they would like to invite area schools and groups to join the museum in exploring the STEAM disciplines.
“We are excited about the exhibition. It is something new that the museum visitor will enjoy and learn from when they visit the Museum,” Smith added.
Schools or other groups interested in arranging a tour can reach out to Bean by emailing cbean@hsvmuseum.org or by calling 256-535-4350 ext. 223. Tours are scheduled two weeks out from the tour date. Visit the museum exhibitions page for additional information or call the museum at 256-535-4350.