Curricular Involvement with the Community

The Bates College Museum of Art’s education program is focused on curricular involvement with both the College and surrounding communities. Through programs like the Thousand Words Project, which uses exhibitions and collections to teach writing skills and visual literacy, the museum serves as a tool for educators and students.

Whenever possible, outreach programs include a service-learning component to capitalize on the expertise of Bates students.  In this way, service to the Bates community and outreach beyond campus are combined seamlessly. The museum now reaches every middle school student in its surrounding communities of Lewiston and Auburn, the second largest population center in Maine.

The Museum plays an active role as a curriculum resource at Bates:

• Exhibitions are regularly developed with faculty and students.
• The Museum offers a Collection Study in which students, faculty, and visiting scholars can closely examine any object in the collection to meet an ever-increasing demand for use of the collection in teaching at Bates.
• Students have access to hands-on experience in museological careers through the Museum’s internship for credit (AVC 361) and volunteer programs.
• The Museum offers students and faculty an even wider view of art history, studio practices, galleries, and museology, and the chance to meet experts in these fields by hosting lecturers from various disciplines.