A Lasting Impression

Field Trip Experiences at the Florence Griswold Museum

The Florence Griswold Museum is fast becoming one of the premiere destinations for school groups of all ages. From preschool-aged children to college students, the campus is a rewarding experience for all educational initiatives.

Our Field Trip Experiences combines art, history, and nature, and can be geared for students of all ages and grade levels.

Field Trip Experiences requires approximately 2-1/2 hours (longer if you plan to stay for lunch). Class will be divided into smaller touring groups and rotate between the activities.

Field Trip Experiences are $7 per student. There is no charge for teachers and for each adult chaperone (one for every 15 students). Additional adults are $7 each.

 

Our current Field Trip Experience features these three student-centered learning activities:

Miss Florence and the Artists of Old Lyme

This guided tour explores the Griswold House, the boardinghouse of the Lyme Art Colony. The house has been interpreted to its appearance in 1910, the height of the art colony, and tours feature the Orientation Gallery with vintage film clips and photographs as well as the Art Colony Bedroom (where some of America's greatest artists stayed), The Center Hall (used by Miss Florence as a make-shift art gallery), the Art Colony Parlor (where the artists played games and made music), Miss Florence's Bedroom (filled with family heirlooms), and the Art Colony Dining Room (showcasing over 40 painted panels).

 

What? Why? Wow! Interactive Gallery Activities

Based on Visual Thinking Strategy, the Museum's What? Why? Wow! is only one learning-to-look activity that focuses on the paintings in the temporary exhibitions on view in the Krieble Galleries. Additional gallery activities are planned for each of the changing exhibitions in this state-of-the-art art and history space.

 

Become an American Impressionist Artist!

Step into the role of an Old Lyme artist. This hands-on art-making project features authentic artists materials such as paints, palette, brushes, canvas board, smocks, etc. After a quick lesson with the Museum Educator on how the Old Lyme Impressionists painted, students walk down to the Lieutenant River to create their own plein-air Impressionistic masterpiece to bring back to school.

 

 

Additional field trip experiences options include:

A Place Where Pictures are Made: The Studio of an American Impressionist

Tour the historic studio of American Impressionist William Chadwick and learn about the painting tools and techniques of the Lyme Art Colony. This program strengthens the students' artistic vocabulary and understanding of the daily activities of an artist in Connecticut, and prompts discussion regarding the trials and triumphs of the plein-air painters.

 

Painting in Style: Tonalism vs. American Impressionism

Explore the exhibition An American Place: The Art Colony at Old Lyme in the galleries on the second floor of the Griswold House for an interactive lesson on the two dominant painting styles enjoyed at the Lyme Art Colony. Learn the characteristics of both Tonalism and American Impressionism through the examination of stellar examples in the Museum’s collection.

 

The Artistic Terrain: Following the Footsteps of Connecticut Artists

Tour the grounds of the Museum to discover the places the historic artists painted and played. Study the architecture of the Griswold House before walking through the historic gardens and orchard, down along the riverbank, and over to the Chadwick Studio.

 

Meet Connecticut's Masters: Highlights from the Hartford Steam Boiler Collection

Tour the galleries to witness the scope and breath of creativity in Connecticut using the Museum's collection of paintings and sculpture as your guide. Witness the history of Connecticut as depicted by its artists in Colonial portraits, charming genre scenes, trompe l'oeil still lifes, provocative history paintings, and impressionistic landscapes.

 

Your Choice!

Contact the Education Department to discuss your individual interests and learning goals and we can tailor the tour to meet your needs.