EDUCATION

Children learning to create art at the Petaluma Arts Center.

Engage Students with the Visual Arts

Petaluma Arts Center (PAC) offers K-12 schools an education program designed to engage students with the visual arts through interactive and immersive experiences. Students develop respect for their peers' opinions by considering different perspectives in a supportive environment where every student's voice is heard. Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) and hands-on art lessons are the key components of our education program.  

Visual Thinking Stratgies

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) sessions are designed to create a collaborative learning environment where students build on each other's ideas. VTS is a research-based teaching method that uses art to foster critical thinking, communication, and observational skills. During school field trips to PAC, students engage with artworks through guided discussions. Trained VTS facilitators ask open-ended questions, such as:

  • "What’s going on in this picture?"

  • "What do you see that makes you say that?"

  •  "What more can we find?"

  • Students learn to observe details they might have overlooked.

  • VTS asks students to support their interpretations with evidence from the artwork.

  • Students learn to appreciate diverse viewpoints.

  • Students practice listening to other interpretations which enhances collaborative and communication skills.

Children engaging with art at the Petaluma Arts Center gallery.

School Tours at PAC

Petaluma Arts Center (PAC) offers K-12 schools an education program called Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), a research-based teaching method designed to engage students with the visual arts through interactive and immersive experiences. VTS uses art to foster critical thinking, communication, and observational skills. During school field trips to PAC, students engage with artworks through guided discussions. This is followed by a hands-on art lesson complementing the themes and techniques observed during the VTS discussions. Students experiment with various art mediums and create their own artworks. Field trips last approximately 90 minutes. If teachers wish to bring snacks or lunch, it's possible to add that time onto the field trip.

Creative Aging Program

Bringing VTS-based discussions about art to local assisted-living or senior housing venues is a worthwhile and stimulating experience for older adults. Also, seniors in local memory-care facilities have benefited from the kind of creative expression sparked by the initial question: "What's going on in this picture?".

Unlike the typical "UnPACking Art" events at Petaluma Arts Center where attendees are in a gallery setting, attendees in Creative Aging visits are provided individual handouts of the images to be discussed so that all participants can have their own up-close view, addressing both mobility and vision challenges. Visual Thinking Strategies are used in PAC’s Creative Aging Program. Participating in activities that foster creative engagement and skills mastery in a social environment has positive psychological, physical, and emotional health benefits for older adults. Under the umbrella of Creative Aging, Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) has gone mobile. Trained VTS guides visit local senior centers and introduce residents to new ways of seeing and talking about art.

When: Last Wednesday of Every Month
Where: The Petaluma Senior Center | 211 Novak Drive
Time: 1:00 PM
Free: No RSVP is required!