Family Programs

The museum galleries have re-opened, however, in-person events remain on hold. Online events such as performances, lectures, art programs, and more are occuring and details can be found at our virtual Museum at Home!

The Albany Institute is a place where people of all ages can learn and have fun. Our family programs provide enriching educational experiences about art and history in an atmosphere that is diverse, compelling, and entertaining. From weekend programs to family festivals, from school-vacation art programs to pre-school programming, the Albany Institute offers a wide variety of activities that will appeal to your family.

For programs that require a fee, payment is required at the time of registration.

For more information, or to register for a program, please contact our Director of Art Programs, Sarah Clowe at 518-463-4478, ext. 435, or clowes@albanyinstitute.org. 

Sign up to join our family program email list to hear more about our children's programming: Family Program Email Sign Up

Artful Mornings 2021 Virtual Art Programs

Our popular summer classes will be offered online!

Artful Mornings

Virtual Summer Art Programs for Ages 6-12

Looking to be creative this summer? We’ve adapted our popular program Artful Mornings and will offer it online! Sign up for some fun, hands-on activities led by our art instructors and learn new things, experiment with new ideas, connect with new people, and make beautiful works of art. Summer class techniques will include drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and more. Class registration includes include materials kits, and live instruction via Zoom as well as extension activities that can be completed independently.  In addition to hands-on art programming, participants will get virtual introductions to objects in the museum’s collections and exhibitions.

Tuesdays—Thursdays from 10:00-11:30 AM
Sessions start July 13, 2021

Cost per three-day session: Tuition includes materials, live instruction, as well as complementing asynchronous project directions that can be done independently. For more information, email clowes@albanyinstitute.org.

Artful Mornings Virtual Summer Program sessions will take place Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings from 10—11:30 AM and will use Zoom video conferencing. 

Registration for each session will be closed the Friday of the week before so that art kits can be coordinated for pick up.

Weekly Sessions:

Water & Waves 
July 13-15 

Join us to explore the color and movement of water in art.  We’ll use paint and drawing media in both realistic and expressive styles as we delve into color, mark-making, and implied texture in our work.  Together we’ll follow both traditional methods of creating as well as experiment with the flowing qualities of water in unusual action art techniques. 

Sunrise, Sunset
July 20-23 

Create glowing works of art with us as we view sunrise and sunset scenes from the museum’s collections.  Opportunities will be provided both for young artists to create their own designs as well as to paint along with a led painting experience.   

 

Trains!: Angles & Perspective
July 27-29  

All aboard!  Together we’ll take inspiration from train imagery currently on view in the Romancing the Rails: Train Travel in the 1920s and 1930s exhibition.  The dramatic travel scenes showcase an excellent use of angles and perspective which we’ll emulate in our own train artwork. 

 

Egyptian Art: A Glimpse into the Past
Aug. 3- 5 

Discover the beauty of ancient Egyptian art and culture!  This class will virtually tour our ancient Egypt galleries, and have a blast creating art inspired by what we observe.  We’ll discover exciting myths and create Ancient Egyptian styled artwork. Objects and artwork will be modeled after artifacts on view and include models of canopic jars, ornate sarcophagi, as well as wearables such as a mask of a lion god. 

 

Color & Light: Translucent Forms
Aug 10- 12 

Let the light shine in as we explore the impact of light and color streaming through translucent shapes.  We’ll look to the luminous creations of sculptor Dennis Byng in the museum’s collection as inspiration as we create our own works that play with light, color and translucent and opaque forms. Special polymer clay that allows light to go through will be used for unique sculptures, and see-through materials ranging from paints, plastics, and tape will be used to create sculptures and sun catchers. 

 

Vases & Vessels
Aug 17-Aug 19 

Watch your artwork take shape this week as we create vases and vessels out of materials like air-dry clay, folded paper, and upcycled materials.  We’ll look at antiquities like tiny Egyptian juglets that are thousands of years old, as well as contemporary pieces with big patterns and interesting textures.  Extension activity options will include directions to create paper flowers to fill your creations with. 

 

Stamp! Blot! Print!
Aug. 24-Aug. 26 

Stamp, press, blot and print as you discover the world of printmaking with us this summer!  Participants will have the opportunity to explore a variety of printmaking techniques.  We’ll create our own relief printing plates that will be used to create multiple editions of prints, and print with found objects, and monotypes as we put our own impression on things!  

 

F.A.Q.s

ZOOM COMMUNICATION

  • Zoom meeting IDs and sign-in information will be sent to registrants by the Monday of each scheduled session week. Please let us know if we should use a different email address than the address you used for registration.
  • Meeting invitations are for registered participants only. Please do not share invitation information.
  • Meeting passwords and waiting rooms will be used for each session.
  • To protect the privacy and safety of all participants, please do not video record, photograph, live stream, or transmit any part of the Zoom virtual session without permission.

ART KITS & OTHER MATERIALS

  • Included with registration, each session will have an art kit with specific supplies for each activity. 
  • Art kits for the coordinating Artful Mornings sessions will be available to pick up at the museum's front desk the week before the program during museum hours.  Please let us know via email (clowes@albanyinstitute.org) when you'd like to pick up the materials, and we'll make sure the kits are ready at the admissions desk for you. 
  • We recommend having the following basic at-home art materials available in addition to the art kit materials: washable markers, crayons or colored pencils, scissors, pencils, blank paper, and a permanent marker.

REGISTRATION DATES

  • If registrations have not been received 2 weeks beforehand a session will be canceled.
  • Registration for each session will be closed the Friday of the week before so that art kits can be coordinated for pick up.