Object Based Learning Workshop

In the early weeks of the 2025 Smithsonian Faculty Fellowship experience, the Fellows are treated to “Teaching with Objects: An Introduction to Object- and Museum-Based Learning,” a workshop facilitated by the incomparable Professor Sara Ducey, the outgoing Director of the Paul Peck Humanities Institute. Co-created with Dr. Deborah Stearns and Professor Mimi Mann, this workshop introduces fellows to a robust menu of options they can pick and choose to integrate into their museum-visit-infused classrooms.

Before that full menu is revealed, though, Prof. Ducey helps the Fellows pinpoint the wow factor that makes a museum artifact so special. Consider the following:

Whether Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers, the Enola Gay, Abraham Lincoln’s Top Hat, or other, culture-rich artifacts can inspire wonder, awe, even anger. They are uniquely tethered to our shared and personal histories, and there is nothing quite like witnessing the real thing in person. There’s no denying their special power: They can engage the senses, convey vast meanings, and encourage deep thinking and reflection. When students are invited to interrogate these objects, too, the resulting conversations pivot on transferable skills that will serve them in countless future scenarios.

How we cultivate these learning opportunities with our students in the classroom can take many forms as well. Students can write six-word memoirs in response to an artifact; they can grapple with Harvard’s Project Zero Thinking Routines; they can embrace their agency as self-directed learners in and outside of museum contexts. Something as simple as a Styrofoam cup—a classic prop in Prof. Ducey’s workshop—can invite a flood of responses.

When space is created for object engagement in the classroom, the learning experience can be transformative. There’s a palpable “magical contagion” that inspires energy, confidence, and even a little whimsy. Especially for our Fellows, integrating Object-Based Learning ahead of their museum visits can help students redefine their initial impressions, shape their time, recognize belonging, and more. A major goal for all, ultimately, is to ensure our students feel not only prepared for the museum visit but also excited to see themselves in what is often a new, occasionally intimidating space. We want our students to “find themselves” in the museum.

Interested in testing this out yourself? Carry these conversation starters from the Blanton Museum of Art with you next time you are on your own museum journey this year:

• Find a work of art that reminds you of something in your past.​

• Find a work of art that is in some way, like you.​
• Find a work of art that, for you, embodies pure JOY!​
• Find a work of art that has something to say about COURAGE.​
• Find a work of art that speaks to an issue that concerns you.​
• Find a work of art that you might choose to share with a depressed friend.​
• Find a work of art your grandmother might have chosen for her home.​