Guest post by Creative Arts Lead, Tyler Swain
September is Creativity Month at the Omaha Children’s Museum, as we unveil our new Creative Arts Programming!
Our Creativity Month begins with our A-maze-ing Adventure, the massive cardboard maze that has been filling our Arts Center since the first of September. Due to its popularity we are extending its presence through this weekend (ending September 16th), so make sure you get your chance to travel through it and leave your own artistic fingerprint.
We invite all guest s (kids and grown-ups!) to actively participate in the construction and decoration of our maze using one of our new favorite products – Makedo – all day this Friday and Saturday, September 14 and 15. (Makedo is a connector system that enables materials including cardboard, plastic and fabric to easily join together to form new objects or structures. Check out this great tutorial on using makedo’s here, and get ahead of the curve!)
We’re excited to let kids and grown-ups experiment with this wonderfully creative building toy, as we invite you to help us tear down and rebuild our maze! Our goal for the weekend is to condense the maze to a smaller scale so that it can fill the space that is currently occupied by our pizza exhibit (don’t worry about Pizza though, parts of it are moving upstairs to become part of our Itty Bitty City, opening October 20!).
The creativity with cardboard continues as we make our own cardboard costumes (with a pirate theme September 19th and 22nd) take on cardboard dissection (September 12 and 26) during our Materiality programming on Wednesdays, and build our own Cardboard Automata (September 21, 28, and 29).
Our month won’t be completely centered around cardboard, however, as children will have an opportunity to explore sculpture and clay and take a spin on our new potter’s wheel during our Mold It program on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They’ll also be able to explore paint in all forms on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Our daily creative arts programming is evolving to build stronger connections between the Creative Arts and S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). We will begin hosting several programs a week, each with a focus on an open-ended project that relates to a larger idea. Here’s a quick overview:
Happy Accidents!- (Sat 9:00-4:00, Sun 1:00-4:00) Explore paint in the messiest of ways as we transform our artist in residence studio into a Paint studio for Happy Accidents. From splatterballs and paint squirters, to machines that fling finger paint, you never know what will happen, but there are sure to be more than a few happy accidents.
Materiality – (Wed. 10-4:30) Explore the artistic and scientific properties of various materials from cardboard (September) to Plastic (October) and Paper (November). Guided activities will push materials to their limits, build artistic machines, clothing, and so much more!
Mold It! –(Tues and Thurs., 10-Noon and 1-3) beginning September 11th. We transform our Artist in Residence studio into a sculpture studio, where you can take your turn on our potter’s wheel, or explore moldables of all forms, from doughs and clays, to home-made concoctions, as you build and sculpt your own artistic experience.
Open Make! -- (Tues. and Thurs., 10-3:30 p.m., Sun 1-4:30 p.m.) We provide the materials, you provide the imagination. Let your child spend a few minutes or a few hours in the Creative Arts Center expanding their imagination creating one of kind pieces.
Paint It! (Wed and Fri 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.) Painting is one of our most popular activities at the museum, take a moment to make a masterpiece with your child!
Tinker Time! (Fri. and Sat. 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.) Art, Science, and Engineering collide as we tinker away in the arts center, from building mechanical sculptures, to painting with light, watch out for these special workshops happening in the arts center monthly.
We look forward to seeing you in the Creative Arts Center soon, where we’re inspiring expression, learning and creativity with arts experiences.