Educators
For Educators
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WAM is for Educators
At WAM, students and teachers are very important. We want every student to have an enriching and exciting museum visit. We want teachers to see the museum as an extended classroom to help meet state standards as well as build critical thinking and visual literacy.
Evening for Educators
Friday, October 13 | 5-7 pm
FREE, advance registration required
Mix and mingle with other K-12 teachers, learn about what’s new at WAM, and enjoy free admission to see the fall temporary exhibitions.
Click Here to RegisterTeacher Workshop: Fighters for Freedom – William H. Johnson Picturing Justice
Saturday, October 21 | 9 am-Noon
$15 for General Public • $10 for WAM members
Space is limited. Advance registration required.
Join WAM staff before public hours to learn about American history through the lens of William H. Johnson’s series of paintings celebrating African American leaders, followed by a hands-on, classroom-ready art making activity.
Click Here to Register
Resources for Teachers
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Download: Educator Guide: "Fighters For Freedom" Exhibition
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS EXHIBIT: Lesson Plans • Artworks • Resources Fighters for Freedom: William H. Johnson Picturing Justice is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Generous support for this project is provided by Art Bridges.
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Download: Wichita Art Museum-School Programs Guide 2023-2024
Connect your students with Art + Ideas. School Programs Guide 2023-2024 . Make WAM your extended classroom with 100% bus reimbursement
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Download: Educator Guide for BJO Nordfeldt: American Internationalist
Share the travel experiences and art of BJO Nordfeldt with post-visit lesson plans exploring the themes of "Learning to Look," "American Portraits" and "Spaces and Places."
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Download: Educator Guide for African American Art in the 20th Century
Using the teaching themes of Identity, Celebration, and Adversity, educators may use these concepts to provide a common lens to view and relate to the art and the African American experience.
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Download: Educator Guide for Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight
Bringing your students to WAM for a tour of Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight? This supplemental packet of information and activities is designed to support your students' classroom learning in preparation for your visit.
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Download: 100% Bus Reimbursement
Is the cost of the bus for the school field trip a problem? No longer! WAM provides 100% bus reimbursement to all schools in reasonable driving distance to the museum.
For Educators
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Tours for schools are free!
WAM is currently working on expanding school and teacher resources. The museum will be the place for excellent, exciting, and creative learning opportunities for K-12 students. Watch WAM grow. If you are a teacher or educator, we invite you to learn more about the museum’s tour program and schedule a guided tour for your student.
Open the minds of our young learners with a visit to Wichita Art Museum. Bring your class for a museum tour to expand students’ critical thinking and observation skills. Student tours are FREE!
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Enhance the Tour Experience
Art Mix
Looking for extra ways to spark creativity while at WAM? Try a special hands-on activity to expand learning. Students roll up their sleeves and experiment with media, techniques, and concepts of art in projects linked to their gallery tour experience. Materials cost is $5 per student. To learn more about how you can schedule these additional components or discuss more creative ways for students to engage learning at WAM, email WAM’s Education Department.
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Self-Guided Tours
Teachers are always encouraged to lead their students on their own specialized tour of the museum, However, we are happy to work with teachers to help prepare worksheets or lesson plans for their students’ visit. Leaders of self-guided tours still need to schedule their group at least one week ahead so that we can accommodate their needs and those of others who might be visiting.
Art Deco Resources for Teachers
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Download: Educator Guide for American Art Deco - Introduction
Learn more about Art Deco, the wildly popular design movement from the 1920s and 1930s, by exploring the themes of "Focus on Fashion," "Art in Motion," and "Representing the Past, Present, and Future."
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Download: A Focus on Fashion
For Grades 3-8: Create an Art Deco Upcycled Hat
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Download: Art in Motion
For Grades 6-12: Create an Artwork with Movement in Mind
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Download: Representing the Past, Present, and Future
For Grades 6-12: Create a Personal History Poem
Recorded Tours

Wichita Public Schools created “Winter Wonderland Virtual EdVenture” with a virtual field trip to WAM.
These pre-recorded tours of selected artworks offer K-12 teachers and students opportunities to engage with art on view in the galleries. Whether your school is open, or you are meeting with students virtually, these presentations are a great way to incorporate American art into your curriculum this school year.
Teacher Advisory Committee

The Teacher Advisory Committee (TAC) at the Wichita Art Museum will include educators across disciplines and grade levels (kindergarten through 12th grade). Committee members collaborate with WAM Education staff to promote meaningful student and teacher engagement with the Museum and to support arts integration across the curriculum. The Committee meets four times each year. Members serve two-year terms.
TAC@WAM strives to be both inclusive and reflective, representing the wide-ranging diversity of the communities it serves. Members are classroom teachers or administrators, at all grade levels (K–12), a wide variety of subjects, at both public and private/independent schools, and work within Wichita, and the greater Wichita area. In recruiting inaugural members to begin in fall 2019, WAM is seeking 10 individuals to help guide and support educational programs for schools, teachers, and students.
In order to achieve the goal of advising and supporting WAM education staff in the development and promotion of high-quality programs, TAC’s activities may include:
- Identifying issues of concern for K–12 teachers
- Identifying topics of interest to K–12 teachers for a variety of subject areas (history/social sciences, English language arts, English language learning, visual arts, world languages, mathematics, science, etc.)
- Assisting the Museum in remaining informed and up-to-date about state frameworks, legislation, school and district policies, related to K–12 education.
- Providing feedback on programs in development by education staff, so that they can be as relevant as possible to classroom curriculum and teacher enrichment.
- Disseminating information about WAM’s school and teacher programs, both locally and nationally.
- TAC members function in an advisory capacity. The Committee is not a policy-making body.
Please contact WAM’s Education Department at education@wam.org with questions.