ACTIVITIES

Fuel for Thought
Did you know…

People who can use their right and left hands equally well are called ambidextrous. Audubon was one such person, but not only that, he could—and often did—paint with both hands simultaneously (at the same time)! This unique talent enabled Audubon to work more quickly. Try it yourself. Pick up a crayon or paintbrush in each hand and try to create a picture this way. It isn’t easy, is it?

Discovery Detours

Choose one extinct animal in particular that you wish still existed. Learn all you can about your animal. Consider where and how it lived, as well as when and how it became extinct. Now write a story in which you are the hero who discovers that this animal is not extinct after all. Consider all aspects of your story. What environmental conditions must exist for you to be able to find your animal still alive? How do you make your discovery—is it the result of long careful research and study, or just a lucky break? Write not only about what you did to find the animal, but also how you felt when you first saw it. Once you have all the details worked out, recopy and illustrate your story.

If you go…

Audubon felt it was important to portray the birds as realistically as possible, and all of the images are life-sized. As you walk through the exhibition, consider the special challenges that Audubon faced because of his insistence on portraying the birds as they actually were. Consider such things as the poses of some of the larger birds, as well as the numbers of birds included in each print. How does Audubon use the setting (the background, plant life, and other objects) to tell us more about the birds he painted? What additional information can you gain, knowing that all of the images are life-sized? Do you think Audubon was an artist, a scientist, or both?
You can view some of Audubon’s work online at www.haleysteele.com and www.nyhistory.org

While Audubon preferred to work with life-size images, some artists choose to magnify the subject of their work, and still others reduce it to fit on a canvas. Visit the rest of the museum’s collection and look for examples of paintings in which the subject matter is larger than life (Audrey Flack’s Marilyn and Georgia O’Keeffe’s Red Canna are good examples) as well as instances in which the subject has been reduced in size (landscapes such as Theo van Rysselberghe’s Landscape of Saint Clair, for example). What are some of the things you think artists might want to convey through their choice of subject matter and the size in which it is portrayed?

Think Tank

Discussion questions for the whole family to consider:
The poet Emily Dickinson wrote that “hope is the thing with feathers.” For David Luneau and the others who sought to document the existence of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, hope literally was a “thing with feathers” (or at least the thing they hoped for was), but Dickinson was writing figuratively, which means she was representing one concept in terms of another. What ideas about hope do you think Dickinson was trying to convey with this line? Consider what you know about feathers as well as how it feels to be hopeful about something. Talk it over with your family and friends. Visit www.crizmac.com and click on the Roads Scholar link to read the entire poem.

Hope is the Thing with Feathers
By Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chilliest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

There are no “right” answers here and only Emily Dickinson herself knows exactly what she meant by what she wrote. However, especially in light of Dickinson’s poem, it is interesting to consider some of the expressions we commonly use to express happiness and hope:

Her spirits soared
He was flying high
She got her hopes up
I was in high spirits

For the Mouse-bound

www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory
www.enchantedlearning.com (then click on the “birds” link)
www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/readers_guides/davies_drew.shtml

Wheels Are Turning

Parents and Caregivers: These activities can help your child meet Arizona’s educational standards. The standards addressed here include:

1AV-R4 Begin to look at, and talk about, art (kindergarten)

2AV-F1 Select and demonstrate an understanding of how subject matter communicates meaning, themes, and ideas in works made by themselves and others. (Grades 1-3)

4SC-F4 Identify characteristics of plants and animals (including extinct organisms) that allow them to live in specific environments

4SC-F7 Explain the interaction of living and non-living components within ecosystems

W-R1 Relate a narrative, creative story or other communication by drawing, telling, and writing (Kindergarten)

W-F3 Write a personal experience narrative or creative story that has a beginning, middle and end and uses descriptive words or phrases to develop ideas and advance the characters, plot and setting (Grades 1-3)

W-E2 Write a personal experience narrative or creative story that includes a plot and shows the reader what happens through well-developed characters, setting, dialog, and themes and uses figurative language, descriptive words and phrases.(Grades 4-8)