Cascadia Art for Schools
Cascadia Art for Schools is a free Washington state standards-based art program for K–8 students. Through interactive tours, storytelling, close-looking, discussion, and hands-on artmaking, students explore art in a way that is welcoming and age-appropriate.
The program is free for students and educators, and Cascadia Art Museum helps support transportation to and from the museum. These tours are offered October through June, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
How the program works
1. Pre-Recorded Video Lesson
Teachers receive a video lesson that introduces an art element, includes a semi-facilitated museum tour, and guides students through an art activity.
Teachers can play the video in class, pause for discussion, and use the provided materials for the art project.
2. Museum Field Trip
Students visit Cascadia Art Museum for a museum tour and art lesson led by Museum Educators.
Students may participate in person, virtually, or through an outreach experience where the museum comes to you.
3. Post-Visit Art Lesson
After the field trip, a Museum Educator leads an additional art lesson in person or virtually.
This gives students another opportunity to build on what they learned, explore an art element further, and continue making connections through art.
Program focus options
The lessons offered for your students focus on core art concepts. Grade-level concepts include:
- Kindergarten: Shape
- 1st Grade: Color
- 2nd Grade: Line & Pattern
- 3rd Grade: Form
- 4th Grade: Texture
- 5th Grade: Value & Emphasis
- 6th Grade: Space & Contrast
- 7th Grade: Emphasis
- 8th Grade: Contrast
Classrooms are welcome to participate more than once per year, with new concepts and art mediums available for returning groups.
Sharing Our Story — A Program for Fourth Grade Students
A joint museum experience for fourth-grade students with Edmonds Historical Museum and Cascadia Art Museum.
Sharing Our Story is designed for fourth-grade students and explores the connections between artistic expression, personal stories, and historical events.Students visit both museums and examine how migration, history, identity, and place are reflected through art and artifacts.
At Cascadia Art Museum, students learn about artist Kenjiro Nomura’s life and the historical context that shaped his work. Through close-looking, discussion, and reflection, students consider how personal experience and history can influence artistic choices.
The full experience is 2.5 hours and includes a 60-minute tour at each museum with a 30-minute break between visits. Capacity is 40 students.
