Become curator, artist, and exhibition designer of your own museum experience. Explore the diverse displays and subjects on view at Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History for inspiration and use artistry, engineering, and your unique interests to create small scale maquettes, installations, and architectural plans of a gallery concept all your own. Follow in the footsteps of the Carnegie International curatorial team and collaborate with classmates to combine your efforts into one new neighborhood museum.
Learn more about My Museum.
Travel across continents and through time without ever leaving the museum! Explore the expansive art forms presented by creatives from around the world in the Carnegie International, discover the geographic origins of a sphinx, or rest in a cool spot on a hot day in France. Create sculptures, paintings, and drawings based on what you find, and fill out an art passport at each stop.
Learn more about Art Passport.
Use the Carnegie International as a source of inspiration as you discover contemporary artists who think expansively about art-making. Explore a wide range of tools to create marks, forms, and textures that can become expressive works of art. Conduct experiments and play collaborative games to generate unexpected results and discover new-to-you and processes and materials that can fuel your creative imagination.
Learn more about Carnegie International Lab.
Create surrounded by your favorite art in your gallery classroom. Learn how to reproduce classical work using academic drawing methods, then transform them into unique compositions using a variety of drawing, printmaking, and painting techniques. Gather with your educators and peers in the morning and receive a museum pass to extend your learning in the afternoons. By the end of the week, you will have a robust sketchbook full of creative expression. Teen programs are designed for students entering grades 9–12.
Learn more about Museum Sketch.
Explore processes like mark-making, collage, photography, and printmaking to alter existing imagery and create cohesive mixed media artworks. Use our galleries as a source of inspiration as you look for artists who think beyond realism to create art in innovative ways. Conduct art experiments to generate unexpected results and discover new-to-you processes and techniques to fuel your creative imagination. Teen programs are designed for students entering grades 9–12.
Learn more about Drawn and Altered Image.
Use natural and human-made fibers to weave, hand sew, and tie-dye soft sculptures or wearable artworks worthy of a runway or art gallery. Have fun with fabrics and invent your own unique pattern with printmaking, sculpt with foam, or make marks using embroidery. Work with your classmates to collaborate on challenges that will push the boundaries of art and fashion.
Learn more about Fiber Arts and Fashion.
Utilize one of our most essential natural resources for discovery and creation. Uncover the vibrant effects of liquid watercolor paints, explore the diversity of undersea creatures through scavenger hunts in the library and field trips to Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and discover water-themed art in our galleries. Play with water in its various forms and use it to inspire, transfer, and transform.
Learn more about Water Play.
Combine art, science, and magic through play, making, and experimentation. Conduct chemistry to create colorful potions, make paints and powders by transforming natural objects and elements, and conjure companion animals through design. Fly around the museum to discover mysterious figures, fellow magical beings, and archetypal bad guys to gain inspiration for your mystical makings.
Learn more about Art Alchemy.
Learn how to turn ideas into sketches, sketches into drawings, and drawings into paintings. Explore drawing materials like charcoal and pastel and use your expertise to successfully compose and execute paintings using watercolor and acrylics. Experiment with combining materials and build your skills through daily exercises in a variety of mark-making techniques and color mixing strategies. Choose your favorite approach, brainstorm, and play with process to create your own masterpieces.
Learn more about Drawing and Painting Studio.
Give your fingers a workout by rolling coils, smooshing slabs, and constructing artworks using clay. Create dough cookies during imaginative play, push together smooth and fluffy cloud clay for a sensory experience, and create organic forms using hand-building methods like coiling and pinch pots.
Learn more about Squish, Coil and Roll.