LENS Education Initiative
If you are an educator hoping to develop an activity for your students, CCP’s staff can help you customize your visit based on your course and your pedagogical needs. We can also design experiences and activities that re-imagine the traditional museum or research center visit. Below are some of the more common ways we work with our community. To plan a class visit to CCP, please fill out our LENS Class Request Form. In that form you can select from the opportunities described below or suggest additional modes of engagement.
Self-Guided Gallery Visits
If you’re planning to visit with a larger group (10 or more) and would prefer to explore the exhibitions at your own pace, please complete the LENS Class Request Form. Groups of less than 10 do not need to complete the form, but you can use it to request any special accommodations for your group. Gallery hours and other information for visitors are available on our Visit page.
Guided Gallery Tours
Guided tours can be tailored to the interests of your group and the expected length of your visit. For example, a brief introduction to the Center and the current exhibitions may be 15-20 minutes, with the educator on hand to answer questions. Full tours, such as those planned for classes, may be 45-60 minutes. Guided tours are also available in Spanish upon request.
Print Viewing
Works of art and objects from CCP’s collection may be selected and then viewed in person in the Volkering Study Center. Print viewings for classes may be taught independently by the instructor, co-taught, or taught by CCP staff. Please work together with a CCP staff member by filling out a LENS Class Request Form.
Fine print collection may be viewed in our Online Gallery, and you can search our archival collection on our Archival Search page.
Class Visits, Presentations, and Activities
CCP staff are available to present to your class on various topics, including but not limited to visual analysis and media literacy, primary source research, and photographic studies, practices, and technologies. It may also be possible to design an activity to be carried out at the CCP, in your classroom, or elsewhere on campus.
Primary Source Research Instruction
CCP staff provide sessions on primary source research that can be customized to your student’s needs and your curriculum’s learning goals. For example, topics may include: information literacy, how to request archives and special collections materials, and introductions to working with primary source materials.
Discussions with Museum Professionals
From archivists and conservators to educators and curators, CCP staff are resources for your students to speak about career possibilities in cultural heritage institutions and/or about the nature of their work at CCP.
K-12 Classroom Engagement
CCP has designed classroom engagements to support your teaching goals. The engagements provide students with interactive discussions related to art, explore topics that align with your classroom curriculum, and equip your students with the necessary knowledge and skills for an enriched museum experience. Engagements are available in class, virtually, and bilingually.
How to Look at Art
Designed to engage students in photography and introduce visual literacy. Students will effectively be able to interpret images and connect to them using their lived experiences.
What is a Museum?
Designed to engage students in the topic of what a museum is or can be. Students will explore selected materials from CCP’s collection. This engagement will include an introduction to CCP and what to expect when you visit.
What is an Archive?
Designed to engage students in the topic of what an archive is and what they are used for. Students will explore different items CCP has in its collection. This section will include what CCP is and what to expect when you visit.