The MGMoA board members and staff, in their support of the Museum’s original philosophy, believe that an important means of reaching Oklahoma’s diverse audience is through the school system.  Furthermore, qualitative studies have shown direct relationships between the arts and academic achievement. 

In order to bring these benefits to all area students, the MGMoA offers arts-integration programming and media through a four-part initiative that includes teacher training, classroom materials development, on-site interactive student programs, and off-site outreach activities that facilitate the use of the arts and the museum's collections and exhibitions as inspiration and departure points for creative lessons in language arts, science, social studies, and math that meet state and national education standards.

In 2008, approximately 2,000 elementary students and over 100 teachers directly benefited from the program's activities; an estimated 2,500 students benefited indirectly from the program as a result of the teacher training. 

MGMoA Arts Integration Programming:

For additional information, please contact Donna Merkt, Curator of Education, at 405.878.5605 or dlmerkt@mgmoa.org.

Arts Integration Generates Conditions that are Ideal for Learning:

• Students have a greater emotional investment in their classes;
• Students work more diligently and learn from each other;
• Cooperative learning groups turn classrooms into learning communities;
• Parents become more involved;
• Teachers collaborate more;
• Art and music teachers become the center of multi-class projects;
• Learning in all subjects becomes attainable through the arts;
• Curriculum becomes more authentic, hands-on and project-based;
• Assessment is more thoughtful and varied;
• Teacher's expectations for their students rise.

Arts integration also improves college admission test scores and reaches at-risk students and those who are non-traditional learners.

From: David Sousa's "How the Arts Develop the Young Brain" in The School Administrator, December 2006.