School Progams at the Abbe Downtown

JOURNEYS WEST Exhibition Educational Program

The Abbe Museum offers two classes inspired by and related to Native American artworks featured in our current exhibition Journeys West:  The David and Peggy Rockefeller American Indian Art Collection.

The exhibition is based on David Rockefeller's boyhood memories of family trips from Maine to western destinations beginning in 1926, and his life-long passion for Native art. The family's cross-country journeys to national landmarks, Indian reservations, galleries and musuems in the American West as well as the philanthropic activities of his parents John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, are highlighted in the exhibition by personal diaries, recordings, articles, and photographs.

CLASS DESCRIPTIONS:

Comparing Cultural Differences encourages students to use images and objects to compare the climate, geography, and Native American communities living in the Southwest to those living in Maine.

Participants will:

1.  Interact with a variety of objects and materials from Maine and the Southwest, and compare the different resources from each region.

2.  Explore the exhibition Journeys West to learn how Native Americans in the Southwest used materials to make pottery, rugs, and baskets.

3.  Compare Native American culture, both historical and living, in Maine with tribal cultures in the Southwest.

Comparing Economies compares the pre-contact economies of Native Americans in Maine to those in the Southwest.  Students will examine about how those economies have changed, and how Native Americans maintain their traditions through the marketing and sale of their art in Maine, and the Southwest.

Participants will:

1. Interact with a variety of objects and images from Maine and the Southwest that represent the economy of each region, past and present.
2. Identify changes in art and material culture as a result of market influences.
3. Explore the exhibition Journeys West to learn how Native Americans created art.

Sample connections to the Maine Learning Results:

• Use artifacts and documents to gather information about geography and Native Americans

• Formulate historical questions based on examination of primary and secondary sources including artifacts, real or simulated historical sites, charts, diagrams and written text

• Make observations, participate in brainstorming activities and discover relationships and patterns

• Describe the effects of historical changes on daily life.

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For more information, contact Raney Bench, Museum Education and Programs Coordinator at  207-288-3519 or e-mail her at educator@abbemuseum.org.

Each year, many teachers budget for membership in the Abbe in order to take full advantage of the professional,educational resources we offer. Call or stop in and become a member today. The Abbe is a great resource for homeschoolers.

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Open daily from Memorial Day weekend to mid-October

Location: Sieur de Monts Spring in Acadia National Park, 2 miles south of Bar Harbor, just off the Park Loop Road and off Route 3.

Group visit
Educators find that a trip to the historic Abbe at Sieur de Monts Spring nicely complements their visit to the new downtown museum location.

A short drive from downtown Bar Harbor, the original Abbe Museum at Sieur de Monts is a step back in time. Since 1928 the Abbe has operated seasonally in a lovely, wooded setting at Sieur de Monts Spring. The museum was founded by Dr. Robert Abbe, a New York surgeon, medical pioneer and summer resident of Bar Harbor. Dr. Abbe assembled a collection of Native American artifacts from the area and established a trailside museum to store and display the objects. Today the original museum, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, houses exhibits on the archaeology of Maine and the history of the Abbe.

• Self-guided visit
• School group rates available by reservation
• Outdoor picnic area
• Adjacent to Acadia National Park’s Nature Center and Wild Gardens of Acadia