ABOUT

WCMA designed these online resource modules for families, K-12 teachers and students, and the general public as part of an IMLS grant-funded project to create an online collection database. Through this extensive, ongoing effort, the museum has been documenting the objects in its collection with high-resolution digital photographs and making them available to the public through the museum's online database.

The goals of the project are two-fold: (1) to accurately document the museum's collection and (2) to make the museum collection more accessible to Williams College students, faculty, scholars, and the general public. At any given time, only a small fraction of the museum's collection can be on view in the galleries. The digital database provides a much more in-depth view of the museum's diverse collection of over 13,000 objects. In some cases, the extremely high quality of the photography has brought to light details that were undetectable or undecipherable with the naked eye. To view the objects featured in the modules at this incredible level of detail, click on one of the 20 object images. Then roll your cursor over the photograph to magnify the image.

The Indian Art and Ancient Egyptian Art Collection modules are mini-collections, focusing on specific areas of high interest to the college and K-12 educational community. They were developed through the collaborative efforts of museum staff, Williams faculty and students, and K-12 educators. The content reflects the education department’s pedagogical emphasis on close examination of art objects, discussions about multiple meanings of art, and the exploration of creativity.

Each of the twenty featured art objects includes an EXPLORE TAB providing a brief introduction to the object, a DISCUSS TAB with questions to consider, and a CREATE TAB with ideas for creative, hands-on projects inspired by the object. The modules also include lists of related print and web resources and glossaries of related terms. As a resource for teachers, we have also included lists of educational standards covered by the modules and full lesson plans developed by teachers at a variety of grade levels.

We hope you enjoy exploring the collection!