Surfing the Net with Kids: Interactive Art » Newsletters

Surfing the Net with Kids: Interactive Art<br /> Adventures

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January 9, 2000

Dear Readers,

Welcome back. Thanks to everyone who responded to my
call for site suggestions on Wednesday. Keep them
coming
.

Got questions? Or got answers? Either way, we’re eager
to hear from you at the new SurfNetKids discussion
board
.

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Interactive Art Adventures

While some art museums are content to simply post photographs of their
artwork online, these virtual museums have gone beyond “photo and post” to
create interactive exhibits. From writing activities, to games and
curator-lead video tours, these sites bring art to the Web in a whole new
way.

Art Safari Online

Art Safari is an art and writing activity for elementary and
middle-school kids (and their parents) based on four pieces of art from The
Museum of Modern Art in New York. “Choose one of the artworks to begin.
Questions will guide you to write a story about what you see. Look for
clues that help you figure out what’s happening in the artwork. Type your
answers, or ask an adult to help. Remember: There are no right or wrong
answers to the questions. Learn by looking, and have fun!”

ArtMuseum.net

Created by Intel, these online exhibits are based on exhibits from a
variety of museums around the world. Currently showing are Van Gogh’s Van
Gogh (from The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam), The American Century: Art and
Culture 1900 – 2000 (from the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York)
and Bill Viola: Selected Works (from San Francisco Museum of Modern Art).
Best clicks are the Family Fun games and Director’s Tour, both found at the
Whitney exhibit. Some of the pieces are controversial (what is art,
anyway?) and may not be appropriate for all families.

Metropolitan Museum for
Kids

“Skilled artists can make us believe that stone sculptures feel as soft
as flesh and that painted canvases are as cool as water. How do they do
this?” This activity page for all ages starts with a look at details. Is
the artwork made of metal carved to look like satin or is it canvas painted
to look embroidered? Moving down the page, elementary and preschool-aged
artists will enjoy finding the animals and plants hidden in a seventeenth
century Indian carpet in the Carpet Hunt Game. More educational features
(for all ages) can be found by following the “Looking at Art” link at the
bottom of the page.

Museum of Web Art
Kids Wing

Fabulous, fantastic, fresh and fun! The art games (think of online paint
programs, but then take one big creative step forward) are absolutely
addictive. The musical Lizzy stories are in a class all by themselves.
When you’re done with the kids wing, do continue on to the rest of the site
â€” which takes a museum approach to Web graphics such as navigational
buttons, Web site counters, and online advertising (including the now
classic Hewlett Packard pong-game banner ad.)

Restoring a
Masterwork

“Over the course of 5 weeks, members of the Upper Midwest Conservation
Association cleaned and restored a masterwork from the collection of The
Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The painting, Giovanni Benedetto
Castiglione’s The Immaculate Conception with Saints Francis of Assisi and
Anthony of Padua is over 300 years old and is one of the largest in the
Institute’s collection.” To view the restoration in Flash and Quicktime,
click on the Daily Log. From there, you’ll find tabs for the Introduction,
Project and Glossary.