Turn a nice spring day into a fabulous family outing. Pack up the family and visit the Woodson Art Museum. Once here, head downstairs to Art Park. Seat your family in front of the Ever Changing Landscape. This is the start of your adventure.
Try this. Divide the magnetic sculpture images among family members. One at a time, ask each to place a magnetic sculpture on the landscape. Look at the pieces and talk about the animals and birds. When all the pieces have been placed, it’s time to head outside.
Using a Seek and Find Map (take one from the holder located to the left of the Ever Changing Landscape), lead your family on a sculpture scavenger hunt. Use the map to decide which sculpture to investigate first.
You also can pre-plan things to do in the Sculpture Garden. Here are some ideas for things to bring along: a storybook about one of the animals portrayed in a sculpture (To see images prior to visiting, check the Museum’s website, www.lywam.org – click on Sculpture Garden and then on Permanent Collection ); scientific fact books about the animals represented in the garden; or for a hands-on activity, pack chenille stems. At Debra Butterfield’s Kua, bend the chenille stems into horse shapes.
Some things to do in the Garden don’t require anything special. For example, make a circle around a sculpture, join hands, and walk to the right. Stop every few feet and discuss what each person sees that is different from their last vantage point. Try looking at a sculpture by standing in front of it. Then kneel and look; sit and look; and finally, lie down on your stomach and look up at the sculpture and then roll over and look at it upside down.
When you find Burt Brent’s Heavyweight, it might be a good time to rest. This bronze hippo is the only sculpture in the Garden that visitors can touch and sit on. But do be careful, touch gently, and make sure the surface is not too hot for little hands, legs, and bottoms.
To wind down your visit, bring water bottles and a snack to share in the Garden. This is a good time to learn from one another about which sculptures made an impact. Ask family members if they could take home one sculpture, which one would it be and where would they put it?
Sharing impressions from your Museum visit will reinforce lasting memories from a fabulous family outing.
