Ancient Egypt STEM Program (Grades 4-6)
Explore Ancient Egypt through the lens of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Join our museum educators as we trace the evolution from Stone Age to Bronze Age technology and the advancements that led to a thriving ancient civilization. Explore the world of Ankhefenmut, the tools he used, the process of his mummification, and how it changed over time. The art activity is making a sistrum, a tool used by priests to ward off evil spirits.
Eyewitnesses to History: What the Hudson River School Can Teach Us (Grades 4-12)
The artists of the Hudson River School lived through monumental events and changes while painting in the 19th Century. Join us as we explore history as depicted through the lens of these landscape artists. Some of the themes we can explore are the Patroonship of early Albany, the Clinton Sullivan Campaign, and the removal of Native Americans, the French and Indian War, early environmentalism, Manifest Destiny, and the Industrial Revolution. The art activity is making a landscape collage.
Ancient Egypt: Art & Culture (Grades 3–8)
Discover the history behind artifacts, funerary objects, sculptures, and two mummies found during late 19th century excavations in Egypt. Students will be challenged to examine objects on display to draw conclusions about daily life and religious beliefs in Ancient Egypt. Art making activities can include making your own cat mummy (suggested grades 3 & 4) or creating funerary figurines called ushabtis (suggested grades 5 and up).
Art, Artists, & Nature: The Hudson River School (Grades 4–12)
Landscape paintings created by 19th century Hudson River School artists celebrate the majestic beauty of our region. In this program students will learn about the development of national identity, westward expansion, and the beginnings of environmentalism in the United States. The art making activity is a landscape collage inspired by the Hudson River School artists.
Discovering the Museum (Grades PreK–1)
Introduce young children to the museum as a place to explore and discover works of art and historical objects. Students will be led on an interactive journey through our galleries making valuable connections between the past and their lives today.
Hudson River School: Art & the Environment (Grades 4 and up)
Students will examine the connection between the Hudson River School landscape paintings and environmentalism. Paintings and primary sources will be analyzed to reveal how artists like Thomas Cole expressed concerns about industrialization and promoted the preservation of nature.
Online resources are available to extend the on-site lesson by encouraging students to examine today's landscape and design a landscape of the future.
Traders & Culture (Grades 3–8)
Explore the evolution of New Netherland to New York from first European settlement through the American Revolution. Students will learn about European migration to the colony, interactions between Native Americans and colonists, and the development of a complex society. In the art making activity students will create their own journal similar to those found in the museum’s collections from the colonial period.