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.

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the East and West Buildings. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 x 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

For additional press information please call or send inquiries to:

Press Office
National Gallery of Art
2000B South Club Drive
Landover, MD 20785
phone: (202) 842-6353 e-mail: pressinfo@nga.gov

Deborah Ziska
Chief of Press and Public Information
(202) 842-6353
ds-ziska@nga.gov

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