![\"\"](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/thelantern\/files\/2019\/06\/1949.002_001_cd.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cDoes this scene remind you of anywhere you\u2019ve been? Maybe here in Maine?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it reminds me of my camp,\u201d one child says.<\/p>\n
Others make similar connections to familiar places around the area, including nearby lakes, the Kennebec River, and their homes. While this painting actually depicts a serene lake and the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, it is no surprise that viewers in Maine find their own place in Homer\u2019s work. In this way these children are building upon their prior experiences and knowledge by creating connections to their personal lives. In doing so, they are developing foundational skills of learning.<\/p>\n
Feeling familiar with a painting is a compelling entry point for older students too. Abby Newkirk, Linde Family Foundation Senior Coordinator of School and Teacher Programs at the Museum, says that in most tours, the docents aim to incorporate discussions of Maine, such as in topics of history, landscape, and environmental issues. Newkirk explains, \u201cI think learning about and discussing where people come from is really important to kids and leaves an impression . . . talking about it makes them feel proud of their place in Maine.\u201d<\/p>\n And that was definitely apparent when Newkirk described how most students react to Yvonne Jacquette\u2019s Town of Skowhegan<\/em> (1988): \u201cThey get so excited! They say things like \u2018Wait, that\u2019s the [Margaret Chase Smith] Bridge!\u2019\u201d They find specific aspects of the piece that connect to their own lives.<\/p>\n Newkirk remembered another instance in which students gathered around Rockwell Kent\u2019s Headlands and Sea<\/em>, a painting of a rocky coast and crashing waves. She recalled that one student imagined seals sitting atop the cliff. This student went on to describe how he saw it as the perfect place for seals to fight. \u201cIt\u2019s fun to see kids develop their own stories about what they see from their previous experiences,\u201d said Newkirk. In the moments that the students combine their lived experiences in a particular landscape with the image they see represented in the painting in front of them, a magical connection is formed.<\/p>\n Connecting to place carries through to the college-level academic programming at the Museum. Unlike the K-8 visitors who come from local schools in Maine, Colby\u2019s students are often temporary residents of the state, and so engaging intentionally with historical representations of the Maine landscape is a way they can build their own connections.<\/p>\n Miriam Valle-Mancilla, Linde Family Foundation Coordinator of Academic Access, recalled that during a session with a religious studies class this past February, the professor paired visual analysis of Maine landscapes with the course\u2019s broader topic of displacement. Ryan Harper\u2019s American Spirituality and the Environment class had recently read Thoreau\u2019s The Maine Woods, <\/em>and as the students viewed a Virgil Williams painting titled Mount Katahdin from the West Branch of the Penobscot, <\/em>they were challenged to think about the disconnect between humans and nature.<\/p>\n \u201cThe class has such knowledge of the wilderness and nature, so we talked about these paintings by posing questions about how the artist connects or disconnects with their work, and the power dynamics that unfold when the artist decides where the individual is placed in the landscape of their own painting,\u201d says Valle-Mancilla. She explained how she focused the class on paintings from the Hudson River School. Those artists often sketched on site, and then, working from those sketches, invented details of the scenes on canvases back in their studios. Engaging in conversations about displacement from nature, class members drew connections between their own experiences of Maine, Thoreau\u2019s written accounts, and the paintings on display.<\/p>\n Museums play an important role in facilitating learning experiences by connecting local communities with their local histories. The education team at the Colby Museum of Art has tapped into this power of placemaking with students of all ages. Art can help us to build upon or reshape what we already know and see in the world, helping to solidify our sense of place and self-understanding. This power cannot be understated. And while the programs outlined here are geared toward students and young learners, visitors of all ages can and should draw on their personal experiences when interacting with the art on display.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We find meaning when we feel connected to learning. 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