• Community Building,
  • Innovative,
  • Interdisciplinary,
  • Youth and Family,
  • Breadth

Festival
of Animals

This event integrated artwork with interactive biology and conservation activities.
image

Photos courtesy of Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, University of Oklahoma

Funding Categories

  • Contract Labor

  • Supplies

partner

  • Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, University of Oklahoma

location

  • Norman, OK

About

The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art in Oklahoma collaborated with three curators and one educator from the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History to develop and facilitate interactive biology and art activity tables, specimen touch tables, and local conservation information for this interdisciplinary event. Additionally, the museum activated the front lawn for the first time with a live animal experience to draw in visitors. Through collaborative efforts with Sam Noble Museum staff, visitors experienced hands-on science components that related to the artworks in the exhibition. The Sam Noble Museum staff led touch tables with mammal pelts and specimens, as well as an informative table detailing local species conservation efforts. The FredJones Jr. Museum of Art also partnered with Wildcare Oklahoma, which had a table detailing its workin rehabilitating wild birds and animals.

Intended Outcome

The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art hoped to reach 500 visitors with this activity, expand its audience into the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, create new strategic partnerships in local and neighboring counties, and reinvigorate existing relationships within the University of Oklahoma.

Actual Outcome

Attendance for this event was 342 visitors, which more than doubled the average attendance for similar family-friendly programs. The museum was also able to build new partnerships with the university’s Sam Noble Museum of Natural History and various community organizations, including Wildcare Oklahoma, Bridges of Norman, Boys and Girls Club of Norman, OKC Dream Center, and Act Now OKC.

Advice Post Project

Collaborate with local science and conservation organizations to create interdisciplinary programs that connect art with hands-on learning. Activities like specimen touch tables and live animal experiences make exhibitions more engaging and accessible, especially for families. Using outdoor spaces and interactive elements can also help draw in new audiences and activate underutilized areas of the museum.

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Artist Commissionsat Delaware Art Museum

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  • Community Building,
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  • Youth and Family,
  • Learning,
  • Diversity,
  • Breadth

Black History Month Family Festivalat the Crocker Art Museum

By collaborating with community partners, as well as local and regional BIPOC artists, the Crocker Art Museum’s Black History Month Family Festival created an atmosphere of joy and connection for its visitors, surrounding the Art Bridges Collection loans by Elizabeth Catlett, David Clyde Driskell, and Jack Whitten.

Learn MoreAbout This Activity

image

Photos courtesy of Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, University of Oklahoma