School Programs

We live in a world that values creativity. We live in a society that communicates as much through images as through words. Studies show that arts education makes a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child and helps level the “learning field” across socio-economic  boundaries.

We design the programs featured in this brochure to provide your students with enriching activities that address the Arizona Visual Arts Standards and meet your grade-level expectations. Visits to SMoCA energize students and advance your classroom efforts. We look forward to sharing these dynamic offerings with your classes. Hope to see you soon at the Museum.

Carolyn C. Robbins, Curator of Education
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
carolynr@sccarts.org

Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art is an educational institution dedicated to exploring “the ideas of our time.” SMoCA advances appreciation of contemporary culture and explores new artistic expressions. At SMoCA, you’ll find innovative art, new experiences and creative activities. You’ll have access to internationally recognized artists, architects and designers. SMoCA serves thousands of visitors each year. Our audiences eagerly share their insights and passion for the arts in workshops, docent-led tours, outreach presentations, lectures and studio tours.

Faith Ringgold, Under A Blood Red Sky, 2000, lithograph, AP/40, 30 x 22 inches. Collection of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. Courtesy of Segura Publishing Company. Photo credit: Brent Bond. © Faith Ringgold.

Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts – an independent federal agency.

Sponsored by the City of Scottsdale, Kathy and Jeffrey Wagner, Scottsdale Charros, Scottsdale League for the Arts, Bob Cook, Nationwide Insurance Foundation, Wells Fargo, FMH Foundation, Paul Giancola, John F. Long Foundation, Joan Mills Miller Estate, William L. and Ruth T. Pendleton Memorial Fund, RBC Dain Rauscher, Nargess and Ali Salass, Tamar and Emil Weiss, and Karen and John Voris

This program helps youngsters discover the wonderful world of art. During visits to the Museum, children enjoy a participatory tour designed to inspire confidence, self-awareness and self-expression, as well as to promote language development. An accompanying hands-on art project helps strengthen physical and perceptual skills.

Sponsored by the Scottsdale League for the Arts, John F. Long Foundation, William L. and Ruth T. Pendleton Memorial Fund and Karen and John Voris.

Slide presentations in your classroom

For elementary students, and higher grades as indicated. From September through May, SMoCA docents present thematic slide talks for schools in Scottsdale; between Scottsdale’s east border and west to SR-51; south to McKellips Road; and north to 101 in Phoenix.
Free. Preregistration required (at least two weeks prior). Call SMoCA's education department at 480-874-4641.


Robert Indiana, LOVE, 1969-99, polychrome aluminum.
Purchased by the Scottsdale Public Art Program with in-kind support from Pascal and Sylvie de Sarthe,
Scottsdale and the Morgan Art Foundation, Ltd. NY. Photo Credit: Edwin Benoit.

Enrich your teaching with these interactive, 40-minute slide programs, all of which address concepts of the Arizona Visual Arts Standards.
click the above link for a list of available presentations

Exhibitions and Related Programs for Grades K-12


Docent tour of exhibition Water, Water, Everywhere....

Free tours address concepts of the Arizona Visual Arts Standards.
Teachers’ guides are available for most major exhibitions, for grades 1-12.
Free art project for grades K-8, on request, with a tour.

Preregistration required (at least three weeks in advance). Call SMoCA's education department at 480-874-4641.

SMoCA's 2007-08 exhibitions available for student education tours
click the above link for student, teacher and family-friendly exhibition descriptionss

Special Programs

Arts Days
Oct 24, 26, Nov 7, 13, 14; Feb 20, 26, 27, 29, Mar 4
10 am-noon
$5 per student/adult
Pre-registration required. Call 480-874-4641.
Space limited to 125 seats per performance.
Payments must be made two weeks in advance.
There are no refunds.

Students see a 45-minute performance, participate in an interactive, docent-guided exhibition tour and create an art object. Teachers receive a guide for the exhibition that includes lesson plans, information on the artists and citations of the related Arizona Visual Arts Standards. Please plan for a minimum of two hours for the Arts Day event. Students may bring lunches to eat outdoors following the activities.

Shahzia Sikander, Still from Pursuit Curve, 2004, single-channel projection with sound, running time 7:12 minutes.
Courtesy of the artist and Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York. © Shahzia Sikander.

That's Animation
Oct 24, 26, Nov 7, 13, 14
10 am-noon
Grades 1-12

Exhibitions: In Wonderland: Animations by Christine Rebet, Hiraki Sawa and Shahzia Sikander; Seeing the Unseen: Photographs by Harold E. Edgerton; Right to Print: Segura Publishing Company; Good Form: The Goldschmidt Collection of (small-scale) Sculpture; Human Conditions: selections from the permanent collection; The Art of Healing: Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
Performance: animated movement by Susan Bendix, a dance professional and educator who integrates movement into many areas of the curriculum.
Art Project: experimenting with monoprints.
Interdisciplinary connections: science, language arts, visual arts, dance, music.

Ahmet Ögüt, Someone Else’s Car, 2005, two-screen slide projection, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist. © Ahmet Ögüt.

Car Crazy
Feb 20, 26, 27, 29, Mar 4
10 am-noon
Grades 1-12

Exhibitions: Car Culture; Lyle Ashton Harris; southwestNET: Melinda Bergman; Cultivating Commonalities: A Photographic Exchange.
Performance: Name That Tune, songs about cars performed by Patrick Murillo. Murillo’s music, which he calls “desert-rat reggae,” has been shaped by his Arizona roots.
Art Project: Create a unique design for a car.
Interdisciplinary connections: social studies, language arts, music, visual arts, photography.

Exclusively for teachers


teacher in-service workshop

Teacher In-Service Workshops
Discover ways to use art to enhance your teaching in conjunction with SMoCA’s exhibitions. Learn to incorporate the Arizona Art Standards and to enrich your classroom while you earn professional development credit. Participate in an interactive tour of the exhibitions, a hands-on art project and a review of lesson plans. Includes continental breakfast.
$15 per person. Preregistration required. Call 480-874-4641.

Saturday, Nov 10, 9 am-12:30 pm
Includes a tour of the exhibitions In Wonderland: Animations by Christine Rebet, Hiraki Sawa and Shahzia Sikander; Seeing the Unseen: Photographs by Harold E. Edgerton; Right to Print: Segura Publishing Company; Good Form: The Goldschmidt Collection of (small-scale) Sculpture; Human Conditions: selections from the permanent collection; The Art of Healing: Phoenix Children’s Hospital and a hands-on art project taken from the lesson plans.

Saturday, Feb 23, 9 am-12:30 pm
Includes a tour of the exhibitions Car Culture; Lyle Ashton Harris; southwestNET: Melinda Bergman; Cultivating Commonalities: A Photographic Exchange and a hands-on art project taken from the lesson plans.

For Students of All Ages

Native Trails Performance and Guided Tours of Exhibitions
Selected Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays,
January 8 through April 10, noon.
For more information, call 480-994-2787. Free.

The Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts offers insights into Native American culture in a series of free, 90-minute festivals. Students will set forth on a magnificent journey filled with brilliant works of art, rhythmic music, joyous dance, vibrant dress and traditional food. A Native Trails performance, a picnic in the park and a free docent-led tour of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art completes a day of educational fun that will make a lasting impression on your students.
To schedule a docent tour, call 480-874-4641.

Culture Quest and Native Trails are brought to you by Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau and Scottsdale Cultural Council.

Free Thursdays@SMoCA

Membership Opportunity for K-12 Educators

Receive a full year of membership benefits by joining today for ONLY $30 (regularly $50): Membership card (1)
Unlimited, free SMoCA admission (with membership card)
Advance notice of performances and events, with early ticket-buying opportunities
10% discount at the Museum Stores*
Two free tickets to the Scottsdale Arts Festival
And more!

click here to print membership application form for K-12 educators
please print, complete and fax to: Membership, 480-874-4655 or
mail to: Membership, 7380 E. Second St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251

How to make reservations for tours and outreach presentations

Call 480-874-4641, Monday-Friday, 8:30 am-4:30 pm
Fax 480-874-4655

• All group tours must have reservations (including docent-led and self-guided tours).
• Docent-led tours must be booked at least three weeks in advance.
• Payment in full for Arts Day programs must be received two weeks in advance. Make checks payable to Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. There are no refunds. (Any unpaid time slots will be reassigned.)
• Due to space limitations and to maintain a proper teaching environment, a maximum of 125 people can be accommodated in the galleries each hour (with or without docents).
• Chaperones required: for grades pre-K-12, one adult per 10 students.
• Please arrive 10-15 minutes prior to your scheduled tour time.
• Bus funds: subsidies to defray school bus charges are available on a limited basis according to need. Transportation funds generously provided by the SMoCA Docents.

American-Sign Language interpretation is available for some Museum tours, with three weeks advance notice. To make arrangements, call 480-874-4623.

To make reservations for a Museum tour, call SMoCA’s education department at 480-874-4641. For special-needs services, call 480-874-4623.
fax: 480-874-4655.
e-mail: smoca@sccarts.org
lost & found: 480-874-4648
web site: www.smoca.org

Education Staff

Carolyn Robbins, curator of education, 480-874-4640, CarolynR@sccarts.org
Sally Lindsay, associate curator of education, 480-874-4642, SallyL@sccarts.org
Michelle Palazzolo, museum youth educator, 480-874-4642, MichelleP@sccarts.org
Lauren Chambers, education assistant, 480-874-4641, LaurenC@sccarts.org

map: 7374 east second st. scottsdale az 85251
www.smoca.org

The Scottsdale Cultural Council, a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, administers the arts and cultural affairs of the City of Scottsdale, Arizona, and manages the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and the Scottsdale Public Art Program.