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Crystal Bridges in the Classroom

The Crystal Bridges in the Classroom program places teaching artists in the classrooms of 10 elementary schools throughout Arkansas and Missouri.

These teaching artists, who are contracted by Crystal Bridges, conduct week-long residencies teaching from works of art for one grade-level classroom in one academic year. The teaching artists work with the classroom teachers to build the curriculum that will be taught via arts integration.

The goal is to teach each class’s existing curriculum through artworks in the Crystal Bridges collection. For instance, if the class is learning about Native American history, the teaching artists will use works by Native American artists to explore themes related to Native American societies and cultures. Shortly after the week-long residency, the entire grade comes to Crystal Bridges for a guided tour of the museum.

The teaching artists also facilitate a professional development opportunity for the entire faculty, wherein they introduce the key concepts of arts integration.

This program is funded by local donors in each of the communities where the schools are located.

For further information, please contact School.Programs@CrystalBridges.org.