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One of our upcoming assignments in Social Studies is to visit a museum with a student and observe how they interact with the space. I was very fortunate to be able to attend the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian with Todd Gervase’s daughter. Evey is, quite simply, an amazing young person. Her insights were very valuable, and we also just had a lot of fun! The Mitchell Museum initially didn’t seem particularly interactive to me, but Evey quickly proved that this was not the case.

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The first thing I noticed was that Evey looked high and low for exhibits. Low hanging art that didn’t quite make my radar immediately captured her eye. She had particular interest in all of the paintings in the building and was quick to say, “Wow, look at that!” What amazed me about this in particular was that while I was interested in the tools and archaeological exhibits, I would have walked right past the paintings without a second glance. As an adult with very specific tastes, I’m not sure that it would have registered with me. When I stopped to see it through Evey’s eyes, however, I realized that there was an inherent beauty in the work that I would have missed because of my preconceived notions of what “good art” is.

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Evey also asked extremely insightful questions at the exhibits that completely surprised me. I was expecting questions like, “Where did these tribes live?” but instead she asked me things like, “Who made the beads? Out of what materials?” and “How did they come up with these designs? Why these patterns?” I began to see all of these very clear arts integrated social studies lessons literally come alive with each of Evey’s queries.

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The best part of the museum included the interactive displays where you could reach out and touch tools and art that were handcrafted by the Native Americans. We spent a lot of time simply handling materials and talking about their uses. Although my first impression was that this museum would not be particularly meaningful or “fun” for students, my lasting impression is that I can’t wait to take a class there to help me uncover even more teachable questions about Native American culture, history, and art.

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