Curriculum Support for Faculty

University Museums is an educational resource for Iowa State University students, faculty, and staff, including:

  • Resources to integrate visual literacy to any course curriculum
  • Flexible tour times
  • In-person and digital options
  • Dedicated staff with a variety of experience

Teaching with University Museums

University Museums offers free, customized programs for Iowa State courses across all disciplines. Our multiple locations and 30,000+ object collection provide opportunities for:

  • Object-based learning with primary sources — from ancient Roman glass to contemporary sculpture to historic photographs
  • Visual literacy development — inquiry-based observation skills that transfer to reading charts, examining specimens, interpreting blueprints, and other professional applications
  • Discipline-specific content — art and design students engage directly with craft, materials, and artistic processes; architecture students examine historic structures and design evolution; history students work with material culture and documentary evidence
  • Unique teaching spaces — galleries, a National Historic Landmark, and a sculpture garden offer environments distinct from the classroom

Museum educators and curators work with faculty to design programs using current exhibitions, the permanent collection, and public art across campus. We handle the logistics; you get an engaged class.

Connect with Us

To integrate University Museums into your curriculum, email museums@iastate.edu or fill out a tour request form.

Integrate Museums into your curriculum

University Museums is an educational resource for Iowa State University students, faculty, staff, the Ames community, and all of Iowa. We strive to provide an array of resources to share the Museums mission of fostering understanding and delight in the visual arts with a focus on the creative interactions in arts, sciences and technology. 

From innovative teaching in the Visual Literacy Program, a robust schedule of high-quality in-person and virtual public programs, to opportunities for student internships, University Museums offers a comprehensive education program. Each class is different with unique sets of learning objectives and curricula; therefore, a range of options is provided when scheduling a program.

Examples and Resources

Students are introduced to the concept of visual literacy and communication by practicing looking closely at works of art to develop interpretations.

The ability to look closely at visual material and use reasoning to make interpretations and evaluations from observation, is a crucial skill needed to be an effective and adaptive learner at any age, critical thinker and ultimately to better understand our diverse cultural world. University Museums offers a comprehensive Visual Literacy Program for students, faculty and the wider community to teach these invaluable life skills. The Visual Literacy Program uses works of art in the collection to model thinking routines that encourage learners to question and reason, skills that can be applied to any discipline or circumstance.

Visual literacy is the ability to read and understand visual material and is something that we use each and every day regardless of the field of study. In a world where we are inundated with information, it is truly valuable to be able to slow down, look deeply at content and make thoughtful observations. From reading statistical charts, viewing organisms under a microscope, to looking over blueprints and identifying tree species or animal breeds, having well-developed visual acuity is important in all fields.

In the Visual Literacy Program, museum educators and docents lead learners from all disciplines and ages through inquiry and discussion to understand how to better hone their visual literacy skills. Using the University Museums' extensive collection, program participants have the chance to engage with exhibitions, public art across campus, and permanent collection objects. Museum educators offer customized programs for University faculty to integrate visual literacy practice into curricula as well as public programs, K-12 educational opportunities, and visual literacy resources.

Related resources

  • Schedule a visual literacy program curriculum tour
  • Downloadable worksheets (see the section "Visual Literacy: Object Reading Worksheets")

Questions? 

Our staff develop specialized presentations with primary source objects from the permanent collection related to course material.

Examples

  • Ancient Roman Glass for Classical Studies students
  • Understanding Manliness and Gender Dynamics in Art for Women and Gender Studies students
  • Applications of Wood in Art for Forestry students
  • Aesthetics in the Victorian Era at the Farm House Museum for AESHM students
  • History of Home Economics in Art for Family and Consumer Sciences students, and many more

If a visit to a University Museums’ facility is not possible, customized lectures in the classroom are available.

Examples

  • Use of Lost Wax Casting in the Art on Campus Collection for Engineering Students
  • Introduction to Campus Aesthetics for Design students
  • Livestock and Art for Animal Sciences students, and others

Free educational public programs are offered each semester. Faculty are encouraged to assign students to attend programs as part of their course experience. Museums staff can have students swipe ID cards to confirm attendance.

Faculty can reserve time for classes to use museum facilities as unique teaching spaces.

The entire collection of 30,000+ objects is searchable on the collections database.

Customized Course Folders on eMuseum

  • Faculty select specific objects for students to study online
  • Museums staff set it all up
     

Staff can design/create a custom virtual program or tour for use in a specific class. An archive of digital programs is available on the @ISUMuseums YouTube channel.

Through a partnership with the University Library’s Digital Scholarship and Initiatives Department, University Museums is able to offer an interactive digital map of a selection of the Art on Campus Collection. Users can:

  • Navigate through the campus virtually
  • Explore highlights of the public art collection
  • Read a brief history of the collection
  • Connect with further information and images on eMuseums

Related resources

Downloadable PDFs can be used to help students organize their thoughts and explore different ways of looking.

Primary Contacts