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Release Date: June 19, 2003

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART LAUNCHES WEB SITE FOR TEACHERS

Washington, DC-The National Gallery of Art has launched NGAClassroom, an online destination at www.nga.gov/education/classroom, where teachers and students can connect works of art in the Gallery's collection with their curriculum. NGAClassroom also can be accessed from the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov by first clicking on "Education" and then on "NGAClassroom."

Written and produced by staff from the Gallery's education and publishing divisions, and developed and designed by Second Story Interactive Studios of Portland, Oregon, NGAClassroom provides easy and immediate access to a variety of educational resources.

"NGAClassroom is part of the Gallery's long-range commitment to bring arts education to a global audience via the Internet. This new online section adds an important dimension to our range of educational services," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. "We feel it is critical to take full advantage of the opportunities we have with the Internet to reach students in the classroom."

PROFILE

NGAClassroom harnesses a wide range of content so that teachers and students can easily find informational materials, classroom lessons, exhibition-related materials, and school-specific articles. Users can search by artist, topic, or curriculum subject to find materials that range from ancient Chinese art and archaeology to the contemporary architect I. M. Pei, who designed the National Gallery's East Building.

NEWEST ADDITIONS

The newest additions to these online education options are lessons on myths, art and ecology, 19th-century art and writing, and heroes and heroines that comprise the Gallery's national fifth- and sixth-grade program called "Art&." Developed over the past four years with the participation of District of Columbia public schools, "Art&" was previously available only in print format. Now, redesigned for online interactivity, the program's Super Learner Interactives Component encourages students to test their knowledge in "Ancient Arcade," a myth-matching game, or to make their own honorary token for a personal hero with "Medal Maker."

The Gallery plans to expand and enrich NGAClassroom with new resources and interactive projects on a continuous basis. In September 2003, lessons will be added in conjunction with the exhibition The Art of Romare Bearden, the most comprehensive retrospective ever assembled of the large and diverse body of work by this preeminent African-American artist.

OFFLINE RESOURCES

The National Gallery provides resources to students, teachers, and families through programs that include:

Daily on-site tours of the Gallery by grade, theme, or culture

Pre-tour videos, teaching packets, and classroom projects

More than 100 resource materials (print, reproductions, slides, videos, DVDs) distributed on a free-loan basis nationally and internationally

Annual summer institutes for teachers nationwide and for Washington, DC, high school students

"Evenings for Educators" related to exhibitions

Weekly family activities, including storytelling, workshops, and film programs

Printed family guides and postcard tours of the Gallery

Touchscreen computer index to works on view in the Gallery's permanent collections, in the West Building Information Room's Micro Gallery

For more information on NGAClassroom, call (202) 842-6261 or visit www.nga.gov.

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