The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Education Department develops programs and resources that promote in-depth experiences with works of art. Ongoing partnerships with neighborhood schools and community organizations are central to our mission, and help inform the creation of interactive experiences for the general museum visitor.

Between 1996 and 2000, a major grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts for the Eye of the Beholder project allowed the Education Department to deepen and expand partnership activities and to develop new programs for the general visitor. Current programs and activities are briefly listed below. Go to the Eye of the Beholder project to learn more about the Education Department’s successes and challenges over the last four years.

School and Teacher Programs
The School Partnership Program builds close working relationships with teachers, students, and administrators in six nearby public schools. Partnering teachers bring their students to the Museum for several visits throughout the school year and work collaboratively with Museum educators to design programs that are relevant to the students’ experiences inside as well as outside the classroom. School Partnership groups visit the Gardner before the Museum opens to the general public.

Additional professional development activities for partnering teachers include an annual all-day Teacher Institute and the opportunity to apply for the Teacher-in-Residence program. The Eyes on Art guides are designed to help any teacher link experiences at the Gardner to their classroom curriculum.

Community Programs
Community Partnership staff collaborate with teachers and students in six neighborhood alternative schools and community organizations to develop curriculum-based multiple visit programs. Partnering organizations serving teens are paired with community professionals in the YMCA’s Black Achievers Program who volunteer their time to help guide students during museum visits. Education staff train teen “Museum Associates” to assist in teaching groups of younger children from community after-school programs.

Connecting with Families
The accomplishments and artwork of students involved in the Education Department’s School and Community Partnership programs are featured in a series of evening events held at the Museum at the end of each school year. Each partnering school helps to organize a “Family Night,” during which the students share with their families and friends what they have learned at the Gardner. Groups involved in Community Partnerships also participate in a festive culminating event called “Community Creations.” Each group displays artwork students have created in response to the Gardner’s collection; past exhibitions have included paintings, sculpture, and installation art. Family and friends from the neighboring community attend the gala opening night. The exhibition then remains on view at the Museum for a week, offering all visitors the chance to see the Gardner Museum through the eyes of these young people.

All families visiting the Gardner can take advantage of two free publications, Small Wonders and What's Inside Fenway Court?, designed to help adults and children learn and have fun together as they explore the Museum. Other family activities include “Family Fun” workshops that are held five times throughout the year.

Internships
College students interested in museum education are encouraged to apply to the “Teaching Intern” program. Offered for course credit, this unpaid internship offers training in museum teaching strategies and provides the opportunity to develop museum teaching experience by working in the galleries with School Partnership groups. Due to the extensive amount of training, it would be ideal for the internship to take place over two consecutive semesters or one academic year. Teaching Interns should be available at least two mornings a week between 9 AM to 12 PM to work with Partnership schools during the academic year.

While the education department concludes a three-year research study, the Teaching Intern program will be suspended during the 2005-2006 academic year. However, we encourage students to consider the program for the fall of 2006. For more information, call the education department at 617 278 5149 during the late spring/summer of 2006.

Adult Programs
The Education Department offers “Mornings at the Gardner” courses based on an in-depth approach to learning about the Museum and its collections. Classes are held in the galleries before the Museum opens to the public, and instructors encourage an interactive approach to looking at art that includes discussion, reflection, and fun.

Tours for Adult and School Groups
The Department of Education arranges guided visits for adult groups and school groups. Led by experienced Museum Teachers, guided visits are designed to introduce participants to Mrs. Gardner and her collection through active looking and discussion.

The Gardner Museum is grateful to the donors whose contributions launched and sustained educational programming over the past several years. Notable among them are The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds, The Boston Foundation, and the Stratford Foundation. Educational programs are sustained by endowment grants made by The Ford Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, and generous individuals.

Annual gifts for these programs have been made by The Barstow Foundation, the Barstow Fund, the Boston Annenberg Challenge Fund for Non-Profits, the Boston Cultural Council, The Boston Globe Foundation, The Chase Manhattan Foundation, Clipper Ship Foundation, The Millipore Foundation, General Mills Foundation, GTE Government Systems, and the William E. and Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust. In addition, the Museum is grateful to the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Massachusetts Cultural Council for general operating funds.