Exhibitions and Programming
Where the Wild Things Are: Maurice Sendak in His Own Words and Pictures
School Tour Docent Information
2014-09-16
Prepared by Timothy Frilingos
The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum is looking for volunteer educators to lead our school tours for our upcoming exhibition Where the Wild Things Are. Volunteer educators are needed from January 2015 to the end of June 2015. Educator training will be held beginning at the end of October 2014. School groups will consist of children between pre-K and 2nd Grade.
About the Exhibition
For over fifty years Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are has delighted and captivated readers both young and old. This exhibition celebrates Sendak’s life and work by showcasing his most famous works through preliminary sketches, finished artwork, and interactive displays. All of this is told through the words of Sendak himself, intimately connecting artist to art.
The exhibition aims at promoting an appreciation of the creative genius of Maurice Sendak and his art; highlighting the importance of early reading with children as it relates to language development and literacy; and emphasizing art as an important tool for children and adults alike to cope with stressful life situations. New sections have been developed through partnerships with both the Atlanta Speech School’s Rollins Center for Language and Literacy and the Georgia Art Therapy Association.
Description of Tours
Each scheduled tour of Where the Wild Things Are is comprised of three parts:
1) A tour of the exhibition with a knowledgeable docent who will introduce the artwork and books
of Maurice Sendak. Special emphasis will be placed on Sendak’s creative process , stressing that
all books start with an idea and must develop through multiple drafts before becoming a
finished book. The tour will allow students to spend a few minutes exploring the interactive
features including a “wild thing” forest, a slide into “chicken soup with rice”, and a pretend
“night kitchen.”
2) A creativity workshop that gives students a chance to create portraits using everyday objects.
3) An interactive book reading or showing of Really Rosie.
Each part is approximately 20 minutes long. Visiting schools will be divided into groups for a maximum of 25 students per educator. Each group will also have a minimum of three chaperones.
Skills needed for a successful educator
-Ability to communicate with children between the ages of 4 and 7;
-Ability to learn and memorize a 20 minute interactive tour;
-Ability to answer questions and keep the attention of groups;
-Ability to demonstrated and lead a classroom activity;
-Ability to take photographs.
Availability
School tours will be offered Monday through Friday from 9:30AM to 11:00AM. Only one school will be scheduled per day. We will also offer family tours and activities on select Sundays from 2pm to 4pm. We request that all educators be able to provide at least one tour every two weeks and volunteer on one Sunday a month.
Application & Training
1) To apply please click apply:
2) Successful candidates will be invited to an initial training session during the last week of October
that will provide a general overview of the life and work of Maurice Sendak and an introduction
to the exhibition. All training will be conducted by Director of Exhibitions and Programming
Coordinator*
3) During the first week of the exhibition, educators will need to participate in gallery training to
learn how to perform a tour. This session will also include a run through of the creativity
workshop and storytelling/video viewing sections of the tour.
4) During December selected school groups will be invited to the exhibition to give educators a
chance to practice their tours.
*During the first training session all educator candidates will be required to provide personal
information in order for the Breman to authorize a background check.
