For many, Spring Break means more time with the family, which makes Glenbow an ideal destination. With over 90,000 square feet chock full of art and history, you and your crew will never get bored. If anything, you might be left wondering where to start. Here are a few suggestions to get you well on your way to a wonderful day of adventure.
Art activities! Snap a self-portrait or a candid photo, print, and decorate it! Have fun with oil pastels and make a smudgy work of art, spin in the Discovery Room chairs, and gently bounce on the couches.
Complete the Maverick’s Exploration Guide. This is an awesome way to work together and look deeply at the displays and the stories in each Mavericks exhibition. Pick up the guide in the Discovery Room. (Bonus: Find the ‘ghosts’ of Tom Three Persons, William Van Horn, David Thompson, and Saukamappee.)
Take in the wall of portraits in the Newcomers gallery in Mavericks. Which is your favorite? Can you find the one with a dog on the running board of a car? How did they get him to do that?
Visit the touchable quartz in the Minerals gallery. Engage your sense of touch and use three words to describe what it feels like. (There’s also a Minerals Exploration Guide you can pick up in the Discovery Room.)
Can you find the secret train in the painting The Three Sisters by John Hammond? See if you can when you visit Picturing the Northwest: Historical Art from Glenbow’s Collection.
Discover the secret drawers of war medals in the Warriors exhibition. Not everyone notices these are here - they’re fun to pull out and look inside!
Find Sokari Douglas Camp’s sculpture in Where Symbols Meet: A Celebration of West African Achievement. It’s full of unexpected colors and lines - just when you think one is going to keep going, it abruptly ends or changes!
Visit the giant buffalo in the Blackfoot Gallery, check out the miniature model of the buffalo jump, and imagine what a thunderous sight that would be! Bonus: Check out the Picasso-inspired cubist buffalo sculptures in Kent Monkman’s The Rise and Fall of Civilization on the second floor to compare and contrast.
Feel the beaver hides in the Maverick’s Fur Trade Gallery. Sit down on a bundle next to the canoe and listen to the flow of the water. Maybe visit the washroom after!
Listen for the musical score and take a moment to enjoy the light show of the Aurora Borealis! Compare views from all three floors - the sculpture comes to life every 30 minutes.
Look deeply at Canoes in a Fog, Lake Superior by Francis Ann Hopkins in Picturing the Northwest: Historical Art from Glenbow’s Collection. Imagine what it would smell like out on the cold lake.
Visit On Location: Artists Explore a Sense of Place and ‘find yourself’ in Ron Moppett’s Swarm (the mixed media painting includes a mirror - get it?).
Vivian Maier’s photos are like secrets captured on film. Some of them are funny, some of them are sad, a lot of them are mysterious. Find a photo in the exhibition Vivian Maier: In Her Own Hands that reminds you of a feeling you’ve had and make up a story about what’s happening to the person in the photo.
At Glenbow, they believe art is for everyone. As Calgary’s art museum, their purpose is to provide vibrant experiences that bring art and culture to life. For more information, visit glenbow.org.
Calgary’s Child Magazine © 2024 Calgary’s Child
