Picturing America Tours - GRANTS AVAILABLE

The Picturing America Program, an initiative from the National Endowment for the Humanities, brings masterpieces of American art into classrooms and libraries nationwide. Through this program, students and citizens will gain a deeper appreciation of our country's history and character through the study and understanding of its art. Through the Michigan Humanities Council, the Picturing America in Michigan program also offers scholarships to classes for museum visits related to the arts and American History. The Dennos Museum Center is proud to be a Picturing America Museum Partner and help students learn about United States History through our collection of fine art.

Students participating in Picturing America Programs will go on special tours of these exhibitions focusing on American History and create art work of their own, depending on their class' interests and needs. Grants are available for tours booked before May 31, 2010. This program was initially slated to end December 31, 2009, but has been extended to May 31, 2010.

Download the Grant Application here

Picturing America Tour Programs available at the Dennos:

Artists and Creativity

Grade Levels: K-12

Fee: $4/student for tour, $5/student if experience includes an art project

Availability: 1/19/2010 - 05/31/2010

Using the works from the Museum Collections exhibitions, Museum Docents will lead students on a tour to uncover how American contemporary and modern artists use creativity and ingenuity in several different styles and media. Teachers have the option of including an art project or writing activity to have students use what they learned during the tour.

Freedom and Equality: The Underground Railroad

Grade Levels: 4 - 12

Fee: $4/student for tour, $5/student if experience includes an art project

Availability: 1/15/2010 - 06/13/2010

Students will examine and interpret woodcut prints from the series The Underground Railroad: Vermont and the Fugitive Slave by Sam Kerson. Kerson, a Vermont resident, aimed to provoke questions and discussion on a subject important to his state's history. Vermont was a hotbed of abolitionist fervor in the decades leading to the Civil War. The prints include images of the experience of slavery as well as portraits of abolitionists such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frederick Douglas, John Brown, and Harriet Tubman. An optional print making activity is available for this tour.

Call (231) 995-1029 to register for a tour or use our online tour form.

Michigan Humanities Council Picturing America Grant Information

National Endowment for the Humanities Picturing America Website

To be eligible for the Picturing America in Michigan Museum Program Grants, schools must be participating in the Picturing America Program and have already applied to and been a recipient of the National Endowment for the Humanities' Picturing America Award. Check to see if your school is participating here.

HOURS:
Mon-Sat 10 am - 5 pm
Sun 1 - 5 pm
Thurs - Open until 8pm
Closed on major holidays

ADMISSION:
Adults $6 Children $4
No charge to museum members and NMC students