Arts Learning
ACHF Arts Education
Over 100 youth with and without special needs will explore puppetry through six performances sixteen workshops and one week-long camp in Stillwater. We will measure the number of participants identifying as having special needs and ask them to rate how the series did or did not overcome barriers to arts access via registration and event surveys. 2: Over 80% of respondents at our events will report discoveries of new connections between arts and science from participating in our performances and workshops. Using embedded evaluation and surveys we will measure the percentage of respondents who indicate that by participating in our events they discovered new connections between science and art.
Over 700 youth participated in the series. Library and VFC split the registration which balanced the total participants with and without special needs. VFC coordinated registration for half the spots for all the workshops and camps, ensuring participation of youth with special needs. The registration form included an option for the parents to identify and describe the youth’s needs (which included Autism Spectrum Disorders, Down Syndrome, developmental and motor delays). The Library coordinated registration for the remaining spots open to the general public (including youth with special needs not affiliated with VFC). 2: At all events in the STEM of Puppetry series, youth and adult participants reported new discoveries about the connections between arts and science. Z Puppets introduced each performance, inviting the audience to find the science. Audience members identified the connections between arts and science on print surveys (which were entered in prize drawings). As part of the puppet-making curriculum in the Puppet Labs and camps, the artists led the participants in sharing their discoveries about how puppetry combined the power of both arts and science. Evaluator Cheryl Kessler documented the participants’ discoveries and key moments of arts learning via video.
Other, local or private