The canton museum of art in ohio will continue and expand its museum to go program, which successfully pivoted to a virtual experience during the covid-19 pandemic

The Canton Museum of Art in Canton, Ohio will continue and expand its Museum to Go program, which provides virtual visual arts education to fourth and sixth grade students. Funded by a $110,524 project grant award from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the program aims to improve academic achievement and wellbeing through arts immersion. Each lesson includes a 360-degree virtual tour of a current exhibit, aligned activities on key artworks, and hands-on art making. The program evaluation will be enhanced with an independent assessment. The funding will support the program from November 1, 2021 through October 31, 2022. This project grant advances the goals of the National Leadership Grants program administered by IMLS, which supports projects with potential to strengthen museum services for the public.

The program provides educational and experiential visual arts learning for fourth and sixth graders, creating a learning platform to improve academic achievement and wellbeing through arts immersion. Each museum to go lesson includes a 360-degree virtual tour of a current exhibit, engaging activities on key artworks that are aligned with ohio's learning standards and social and emotional learning standards, and interactive, hands-on art making experiences related to the tour and discussion. The program allows classrooms in economically disadvantaged areas to make a museum visit. The museum evaluates the program primarily through surveys and conversations with stakeholders and will add an independent program assessment to enhance the program's data collection and needs assessment. The program helps students adjust to in-person learning following the pandemic while reintegrating schools with the museum's learning resources.