Go Interdisciplinary!

Witness to Wartime and Love Letters to the Collection

The Missoula Art Museum (MAM) is offering FREE online courses for middle and high school classes (and individuals.) The first is called "Museum as Megaphone: Witness to Wartime." Created in conjunction with the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, it is based on MAM's current exhibit Witness to Wartime: The Painted Diary of Takaguchi Fujii. The course is rooted in the history of World War II and the experiences of Japanese and Japanese Americans incarcerated in the United States.

 The second, called Love Letters to the Collection, focuses on artworks from MAM’s Contemporary American Indian Art Collection. The virtual course features in-depth biographies of artists, a history of the museum, artist statements, and more. Each piece on view has its own email address and participants are encouraged to write their own love letters as they virtually explore this exhibition. 

Both courses include an exhibition tour, learning resources, and a hands-on art-making activity and offer modules that can be completed as a class or individually. MAM is using a platform provided by Inspired Classroom. I looked them up on this database of companies that have contracts with Montana schools to protect student data and saw that Inspired Classroom has contracts with Bozeman and Hamilton Schools that your IT folks can use as a model. You can register for the course--and learn about other MAM Museum as Megaphone courses--here. 

Upcoming Professional Development

Don't forget! On November 17, from 4:00-5:00 p.m., we're hosting an online PD "Integrating Montana History into English Language Arts." One renewal credit will be available. Register (and provide feedback to help shape the session) here.

Interdisciplinary Resources from MHS

Want some plug-and-play interdisciplinary teaching resources? Check out MHS's Crossing Disciplines page, which features lesson plans that cross Montana history with math, visual art, theater, science, and ELA.