These resources are designed to help teachers integrate learning at the museum and through the visual arts into the classroom curriculum.
Learning to Look, created by the Hood Museum of Art, is an approach designed to help viewers look carefully and think critically about a work of art. This resource provides a full screen image of one mola in the museum's collection and guidelines to help you lead a discussion with your students about it. It will introduce you and your students to the five steps involved in exploring a work of art: careful observation, analysis, research, interpretation, and critique. Workshops for teachers on the Learning to Look technique are offered at the Hood Museum of Art periodically throughout the year.
These information sheets are designed for children ages 8 to12. They provide an introduction to molas, background on the Kuna women who create molas, images of Kuna Yala, information on how molas are made, and what makes a mola a work of art. Some of them also include looking questions. They are best viewed on a computer screen by individual students or students in small groups. They can also be projected from a computer using an LCD projector for class viewing.
This annotated bibliography and web resource list will allow you and your students to learn more about molas. It includes a site that provides easy to follow instructions on how to make a paper mola.
Please visit the Hood Museum of Art to see a wide range of original works of art from around the world. There is no charge for admission and the museum is open every day of the week except Monday. Free tours for K-12 school groups as well as programs for adults, teens, and families are available. Visit the museum's web site to learn more.
Last Updated: 1/14/09