WMA’s Impact: Art + PreK-12 Education

Did you know that a single field trip to an art museum can help students learn new skills?

A recent study from The National Art Education Association (NAEA) Museum Education Division and its partner, the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), shows that inquiry-based field trip experiences at an art museum help students learn crucial skills, like complex questioning, interpretation, and in-depth analysis, among other communication skills¹.

WMA’s preK-12 field trip program, Bus on Us, helps area students gain these analytic and interpersonal skills, and inspires their creativity and innovation. The museum works closely with teachers and administrators to make field trips an extension of their classrooms, and encourages cross-curricular learning for preK-12 students that participate in this program each school year. With help from our members and supporting foundations, WMA eliminates barriers for Dothan City Schools and Houston County Schools to participate in this program by providing transportation reimbursement for 8 buses per each school, every year. This partnership has helped provide comprehensive educational experiences through visual art at WMA for more than 4,700 students since the start of the program in 2017.