Community of Learners: Notes from the Education Department

Posted on June 01, 2003 by Kristin Swan

Hood Quarterly, summer 2003

Why teach children about art? Surveys conducted in the 1990s by the Lila Wallace–Reader's Digest Fund at museums across the country revealed that 66 percent of adults who visited museums had done so when they were children. At the Hood Museum of Art, surveys of adult visitors revealed an even higher average of 76 percent. Clearly, childhood experience plays a significant role in shaping lifelong interests and habits, and this is one of the reasons why the Hood offers a wide array of programs for visitors under the age of eighteen.

Each year, between 8,000 and 10,000 children participate in the Hood's programs for schools, and for families and teens. These programs help young visitors develop skills for learning about art, respect for the creative process, and increased understanding and appreciation of diverse ideas, cultures, and traditions . . . as well as cultivating arts enthusiasts and museum audiences for the future.

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Written June 01, 2003 by Kristin Swan