The My School, My Museum (MSMM) program is back on the campus of Crystal Bridges Museum after two years of virtual based instruction due to COVID.  The MSMM is an expansion of the existing partnership between AAA and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

The program is in its fourth year with our fourth grade teachers! Through arts integration, MSMM offers students the opportunity to make meaningful connections between the core disciplines and an art form. During the school year Mr. Jones, Director of Arts Integration and Museum Partnerships, meets with the fourth grade team and Museum Educators to develop on-site, arts integration lessons that align subject-area standards with fine arts standards using works of art in the Museum's collection as the point of connection. The results are immersive experiences that take place at the Museum where the students and teachers use the galleries as an extension of their classroom.

Rashid Johnson’s The Bruising: For Jules, The Bird, Jack and Leni was the work selected for an investigation into mathematical formulas incorporated into the composition. Upon approaching the sculpture, students immediately identified the blue scaffolding of the artwork as a multiplication problem.  The Museum educators informed the students that the dimensions of the work were 20’ x 20’ x 20’, and that the artist has used scaffolding, like a jungle gym, to create cubed sections that are equally spaced to house various objects within. The students quickly observed that the structure was tiered, therefore multiplying 20 x 20 x 20 would not provide an accurate solotuion in determining how many cubical units there are in the structure. Students identified that the base of one side of the structure was 10 cubes in width and 3 cubes high. Using multiplication they determined the side of the base has 30 sections by creating the problem 10 x 3.  The multiplication fun 

Tony Tasset's enormous sculpture entitled Deer was the second work of art that the students experienced.  This monumuntal composition stands 12 feet at the height of the deer's back.  Using their multiplication students quickly calculated that the large scale sculpture is only 3 x the size of an average adult white-tailed doe which is an average of 4 feet tall at the shoulder.    

For the science component students were able to see the amplified physical features of a deer that enable it to survive within its habitat.  Elongated ears that independently move to hear any noises in front of or behind the animal.  A thick coat of fur to protect it from harsh weather conditions, but also serves as camoflauge allowing the deer to blend in with it's surroundings.  Extended, lean legs and small split hooves allowing the deer to run swiftly and silently through the forest to evade predators.