On Sunday we engaged in a plethora of activities including testing out the explorer packs (the sketch expedition one). We started out by setting up the cart in the loggia and Nell and I practiced giving and explaining the activity to Cami and Marisa (who were pretending to be kids). That was hard and slightly awkward but I think we'll get better with practice. We then took our own packs and went off into the museum to try it out. I chose to explore the second floor, and stayed within the Japanese galleries. The only major problem I had was with time management (since we had only 25 minutes to do the activity) but that won't be a big problem for kids and families who want to try out the explorer packs. I liked that there was a guide to give context to the activity but at the same time, I felt that having the paper was a bit restrictive and cumbersome. About halfway through, I just started to play around with the materials inside the pack instead of focusing solely on completing the handout. The hands-on part was particularly enjoyable with the clay and the wire. I also think the materials are very kid-friendly. Overall, I think that the explorer packs will be successful and they're a great way to interest kids in the museum. Plus, I'm looking forward to seeing how the animal adventure themed sets turn out!
-Natalie
Photos: 1) My interpretation of the prompt under Line "Create an outline of an artwork using the materials provided in your explorer pack." (for some reason it's coming up sideways...I don't know what's going on) 2) The little birdie that I made from the clay.
