Armory Center for the Arts

The Armory Center for the Arts will design a multi-year kindergarten through third grade curriculum sequence that will link art and the natural sciences through outdoor educational experiences. This three-year pilot program will initially serve the Pasadena Unified School District, with whom the museum has an established partnership, and will expand to the neighboring San Gabriel Valley school districts in the final year. Project activities include a needs assessment informed by educator, parent, and student feedback, and an intensive orientation for teachers that includes training on Traditional Ecological Knowledge by an Indigenous culture bearer. Educators will partner with Armory teaching artists and teaching assistants to design units for each grade level, including an adapted curriculum for children in special education classes. Ongoing program evaluation will allow for program refinement throughout the pilot period.