Crazy Quick Trip to the Eiteljorg Museum
Indianapolis, Indiana
I had an hour to spare when visiting Indianapolis. What does one do with an hour in Indianapolis, Indiana you ask. Well, I did a marathon visit to the Eiteljorg Museum. The Eiteljorg Museum is a museum that focuses on American Indian and Western art.
Some of my favorite works are below.
From beautiful landscapes to unique works to vibrant colors….I thoroughly enjoyed looking at the different works at this museum.
Resources
The Eiteljorg Museum has an Education Resources link, which has some of the following resources:
Mihtohseenionki Resource- This resource provides information about the native people of Indiana.
Western Family Experience- This document provides visitors with information and activities about four Western families.
Jingle Rails Resource- Around the holidays, the museum has an exhibit with model trains that go through miniatures of places in Indianapolis as well as National Parks. This resources provides information about the difference places in Indianapolis in the display and the national parks shown in the display.
Recordings with information about the Miami language. The Miami tribe was one of the main tribes in Indiana.
Activities
The museum has a plethora of activities for visitors to do and almost all of the activities are engaging and appropriate for children and adults. I have included pictures of some of the activities from the museum below. Two activities that stood out to me that could be used in the classroom or with a family are using “I Spy” for a piece of art work, and having your family or class create their own flag.
Piece of Art “I Spy”- I could see this being done two ways. The first way is a little more formal. The teacher and/or parent finds a piece of art and identifies specific things students should look for in the piece of art. It could be a specific object or it could be a shape. Another way I see this being done is a little more informal and is done in the form of a game. The students all look at a piece of art and someone says “I spy with my little eye something…” Everyone takes a turn trying to guess what the person sees. I think that both of these activities give students an opportunity to really examine the piece of art.
I also like the idea of having students create a class flag or a family flag. The students could look at different flags. Then, the class/family could discuss things that are important to them. The flag could be created with felt, paint, stickers, markers, crayons, or colored pencils.
A tip from someone
who has been there.
The museum has a cafe. I ate there and the food was good. Also, while I was able to get through the museum in an hour, teachers and parents should allow a full day to do the museum. The museum has so many hands on activities that families and/or classes should take time to experience them. I think this museum would be ideal on a hot day in summer or a really cold day in winter.
