Sunday, November 17, 2002
Last modified at 2:57 p.m. on Wednesday, November 20, 2002
© 2002 - The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Bill Mueller * Museum of Texas Tech

A group of teddy bears is called a hug, just as a group of cows is called a herd. These bears were in last year's exhibition at the Museum of Texas Tech.

Teddy bears bring fun for all ages to museum

"Boring." "I don't understand art." "Stuffy." These quotations have been used to describe people's reactions to museums. Maybe one of them sums up your attitude. But a visit to a museum need not be stuffy or boring. It can and should be an opportunity to learn, share, and initiate dialogue with your companions. Below are some ideas of how you can use an exhibition at the Museum of Texas Tech as a fun, informal educational activity.

Based on the success of last year's teddy bear exhibition, the museum invited Lubbockites again to loan their bears for a temporary exhibition called "Teddy Bear Picnic and Reunion" from Dec. 10 to Jan. 5. Children, parents, grandparents and school groups were encouraged to loan their bears to the Museum for the sleep-over. Bears could be old or young, scruffy or pristine, big or small, fat or skinny, grouchy or happy.

If you have not already done so, but would like to loan your bear for the exhibition, contact the education division as soon as possible. You will need to bring your bear with a brief biography of its life to the museum.

Be prepared to spend a little time at the museum, as you will have to fill out an incoming loan form.

Lee Brodie

Our exhibits personnel will arrange the exhibition very soon. The bears will be placed into display cases, called vitrines, decorated in a festive theme. A guided school program for kindergarten and early elementary schoolchildren based on the teddy bear exhibition begins Dec. 10.

All teddy bear donors, as well as the general public, are invited to attend the "Teddy Bear Picnic" from 2 to 4 p.m. Dec. 15. This is a tradition in museums — the official exhibition opening. Unlike most openings, this one will have crafts for children, music, storytelling, as well as punch and cookies. If this is your first visit to the museum as a family, initiate a discussion about what museums are and what they do, why it's important to collect and display objects.

At the exhibition opening, you will meet donors of bears and will be able to see all the bears on display. With your child, search out your bear. Or if you don't have a bear on display, just make your way to one of the display cases. The following suggestions and questions can be used to facilitate a parent-child dialogue using the exhibition as a catalyst for discussion.

The questions are based on a method for viewing artwork that has been modified for critiquing the teddy bear exhibition. It is a formula for developing critical thinking skills when viewing artwork.

This bear will be 59 years old Dec. 20. It belongs to David Schmidley, Texas Tech president.

Identify your first impressions: What words come to mind when you see the display? What is your immediate reaction to the display?

Next, describe what you see. This is not an interpretation, but rather a brief listing of what is in the display. For example, note the number of bears in the display, the types of bears and what they are doing. Ask your child: What do you see? What are the bears doing? Are the bears old or young? What makes you think so?

Move into the analysis stage of the critique by discussing how the bears are displayed (the context within which your bear has been placed). How does the context make you feel about the bears/artifacts?

Read the stories in the exhibit book about the bears on display. How do those stories compare and contrast with your bear's story or with each other?

Spend some time interpreting the display. What message is the display telling you? What are the bears doing? What story is being told in this display? What stories are being told in the other display cases?

Reflect back on your first impressions. Have your thoughts or feelings about the display changed since your first impression? If so, how? What made you change your mind?

While visiting the teddy bears, you might want to remind your child of proper museum etiquette. Food and drinks are not allowed in the exhibits.

Drinks can damage artifacts, and crumbs and spills attract bugs that can damage artifacts. Talking is permitted, but use a quiet voice so you don't disturb other visitors. Flash cameras are not permitted. (Light from a flash can damage an artifact.) For safety, running and rough-housing are not permitted in the galleries.

LEE BRODIE is the curator of education at the Museum of Texas Tech, 742-2432 or lee.brodie@ttu.edu.