Abstract

On January 31, 2006, the United State’s Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded The Kreeger Museum, in partnership with The Catholic University of America (CUA), a National Leadership Grant Award to develop a national model program that will (1) provide universal access to meaningful experiences in small and mid-size museums and (2) develop capacities in knowledge/ representation, engagement, and expression among students, grades 5-8, with special educational needs. The program, Hear Art, See Music (HASM), spans a 3-year period, October 1, 2006 – September 30, 2009. Since 2006, the HASM grant team has been developing and implementing the HASM curriculum model with the goal of make learning in the arts accessible to all students. The curriculum model will be used to design numerous lesson plans for museum gallery tours, museum workshops, and arts-infused workshops in the school setting. In order to create meaningful, and hence, accessible gallery tours and workshops, this process involves the training of museum docents and teacher candidates in art, music and special education; the implementation of a pilot model; professional evaluation of the model; and the dissemination of replication materials to other small and mid-size museums across the country.