Kids making arts and crafts

Imagination Games

An Introductory Tour for Kindergarten through 2nd Grade
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Fantasy play… gets children to enlarge their mental frameworks, get outside their own minds, practice language, and gain information about other values and points of view... This level of learning separates human thought from that of all other species. Play, in this sense, is the gateway to metaphor, to scientific insight, and to invention.

– An excerpt from Your Child’s Growing Mind by Dr. Jane M. Healy 

The Denver Art Museum provides students with a visually stimulating environment that has the power to spark creative thinking in their developing brains. By looking closely at different works of art, students hone observation skills. Students are asked to describe what they see, practicing using language that is careful, precise and full of concrete words and sensory details. When asked to imagine the story behind a work of art, students are asked to think creatively while practicing collaboration—building on others’ ideas while expressing their own clearly.

Gils coloring with markers

Imagination Games is a one-hour introductory tour for kindergarten through second grade students. During Imagination Games students will:

  • Enjoy a hands-on and accessible learning experience that is appropriate for diverse students of all levels and needs.
  • Expand their observation, comprehension and imagination abilities.
  • Be exposed to art from diverse cultures in a variety of media.
  • Develop familiarity with the museum and have an experience that they are excited about that makes them want to return to the DAM to share it with their friends and families.

Standards

Visual Arts Standards:

  • Kindergarten, Standard 3. Invent and Discover to Create 1. Identify how artists use visual art and design to communicate.
  • Kindergarten, Standard 4. Relate and Connect to Transfer 1. Recognize that artists and designers contribute and connect to their communities.
  • First Grade, Standard 1. Observe and Learn to Comprehend 1. Investigate how visual art and design tell the many stories of people, places or things.
  • First Grade, Standard 2. Envision and Critique to Reflect 1. Question and respond to the stories told and the feelings expressed in works of visual art and design
  • First Grade, Standard 4. Relate and Connect to Transfer 1. Identify how artists and designers make connections through personal stories between self, family and friends
  • Second Grade, Standard 4. Relate and Connect to Transfer 1. Observe and discuss how visual art and design are evident in the everyday life of communities.
  • Second Grade, Standard 1. Observe and Learn to Comprehend 1. Identify how artists make choices using the language of visual art and design to communicate ideas.

Reading, Writing, and Communicating Academic Standards:

  • Kindergarten, Standard 1.2 Oral Expression and Listening. Develop oral communication skills through a language-rich environment.
  • First Grade, Standard 1.1 Oral Expression and Listening. Communicate using verbal and nonverbal language to express and receive information
  • First Grade, Standard 1.2 Oral Expression and Listening. Use multiple strategies to develop and expand oral communication.
  • Second Grade, Standard 1.1 Oral Expression and Listening. Engage in dialogue and learn new information through active listening.

Related Creativity Resources