Kids Curate at the Maier

Local school children curate their own exhibit at the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College.

Kids can curate their own miniature exhibitions at the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College this weekend.

The Maier is hosting the event Kids Curate on Sunday at 2 p.m. Participants will have a chance to pick a theme, choose postcards whose images correspond to that theme, and put the images together.“They can then share with the group their idea and why they choose each image or postcard,” said Danni Schreffler, the Maier’s office manager and public engagement coordinator.

The postcards that will be used in the activity have been sent to the Maier over the years from Jean Stewart, a retired Randolph employee. Coupled with inspiration from the Maier’s current crowdsourced exhibition, the postcards gave Shreffler the idea for Kids Curate.

“I thought that the concept that everyone could be a curator, especially now that we have the internet, was such a great concept to share with children,” said Schreffler. Kristen Reiber Harris, a docent at the Maier who also has a background as an educator and an artist, designed the program.

Schreffler hopes that Kids Curate will offer a fun, interactive way to learn about museums and curating. “I always hope that children who visit the museum leave with a positive museum experience that makes them want to come back and to learn more about art,” she said.

The Maier Museum of Art is dedicated to holding family programs such as Kids Curate for several reasons, one of which being the importance of exposing children to museums and art at an early age. Also, “family programs offer an educational, but also social incentive to bring families into the museum when they otherwise might not think to visit,” Shreffler said.

Annie Sydnor, 14, has attended the Maier Museum’s family programs since she was little and she loves all the time she spent there. “It’s awesome to hang out with my friends and talk to the college students and make cool projects,” she said. “The faculty and staff at the Maier are the best people.”

Her mother, Barb Sydnor, is thankful the Maier is organizing more events for the children. “I love that the Maier museum provides the opportunity for families to come in and enjoy great art by fully engaging children’s natural desires to create and introducing all the wonders that await us all in this art museum,” she said.