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Explore engaging, ready-to-use lesson plans developed by museum educators to connect students with works of art through creative thinking and hands-on activities. Each lesson encourages close looking, interpretation, and artistic expression inspired by the museum’s collection.

Lesson - Deconstruct and Reconstruct

The objective of this lesson plan is to encourage students to find new approaches to detect information in a painting. Students will identify geometric shapes and forms, as well as disassembling the imagery of one painting to create a new artwork with a new narrative.

K - 5th Grade

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Lesson - Perceptions and Point of View

Using the painting “Girl Receiving a Letter” as the inspiration for this lesson, students will learn that one’s individual point of view is dependent on their personal history

K - 12th Grade

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Lesson - Postcards from San Diego

Students will document an experience through the creation of an artwork, learn formal elements of visual composition, and actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding using descriptive vocabulary.

K - 12th Grade

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Lesson - Empathy

Students will learn about empathy through class discussion and artistic expression.

K - 12th Grade

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Lesson - The Grand Tour

Students will learn about the "Grand Tour", an 18th- and 19th-century tradition. In the process, they will learn about the societies of Europe during this time period, as well as the arts practiced in locations throughout the continent.

K - 12th Grade

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Lesson - Exploring Identity and History Through Art

Students will analyze two paintings, raising questions about identity, culture, and history, which they will then answer in a class discussion.

K - 12th Grade

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Lesson - Symbolic Portraiture

This lesson plan allows teachers to guide students to brainstorm, design, and create a portrait with underlying symbolic meanings.

K - 12th Grade

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Lesson - Visual Art and Literacy

Based on the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) teaching method, this question-based activity centers on open-ended discussions of visual art and has proven to significantly increase students’ critical thinking, language and literacy skills.

K - 12th Grade

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Lesson - Promoting Empathy and Mindfulness Through Art

This lesson plan offers teachers a way to teach empathy and mindfulness while allowing students to express themselves artistically.

4 - 12th Grade

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10 Lesson Classroom Guide

This booklet offers teachers various activities and ideas of connecting art to other subjects, such as world and U.S. history, English language arts, social studies, and the humanities.

6 - 12th Grade

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Lesson - Poetry and Pictures

The objective of this lesson plan is to encourage students to find new approaches to how they observe information in a painting. Students will actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding. The lesson aims to improve listening skills.

6 - 12th Grade

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Lesson - My Journey to Somewhere New

This is a simple, discussion-based activity to introduce students to the artwork. It’s based on the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) method and helps build critical thinking, language, and observation skills.

6 - 12th Grade

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Art Tutorial Videos

Want to explore your artistic side by learning how to make art from the comforts of your home? Interested in taking a break for a couple minutes to wind down and improve your drawing skills? We invite you to browse our curated playlist of Art Tutorial Videos created by Timken Teaching Artist Elizabeth Washburn.

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Virtual Talks at Timken

Virtual highlight tours of the collection, for free! Every Thursday at 11:00 AM Pacific, we'll be bringing you these virtual highlight tours of the collection for FREE, no reservation required.

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Timken-Inspired Recipes

Celebrate art, culture, and cuisine through the Timken-Inspired Recipe series. Twice a month we explire an object from our collection through an epicurean narrative. Created for aspiring cooks, and seasoned gourmets alike, each detailed recipe features an imaginative take on a masterpiece using seasonal ingredients and the regional cuisine of the artist.lection, for free! Every Thursday at 11:00 AM Pacific, we'll be bringing you these virtual highlight tours of the collection for FREE, no reservation required.

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Conservation

Welcome to this digital resource intended to enhance your experience of Boucher: Conservation in a Park. This collaborative exhibition between the Timken Museum of Art and the Balboa Art Conservation Center (BACC) focuses on the public conservation of François Boucher’s Lovers in a Park (1758). Here, you'll find an ongoing conversation between the public, art conservators, and the Museum's own curatorial team.

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