FREE and FUN for everyone!

Open house in partnership SHaW, WHUS & The Beanery Cafe

For details: https://benton.uconn.edu/first-thursday-at-the-benton/

Student Health and Wellness and the Benton Museum is hosting Pet Therapy every first Thursday of
each month! Stop by for some pet therapy play time at the Benton Museum every first Thursday from
4:30pm – 6:30pm.
Please note that Pet Therapy is provided on a volunteer basis. We cannot guarantee that dogs will be
present the entire time. Can't make it? No worries - Pet Therapy is WEEKLY! For a full Pet Therapy
schedule, visit: http://studenthealth.uconn.edu/pet-therapy

GINGERBREAD-STYLE HOUSES

Roll up your sleeves and get ready for hands-on art adventures this fall and winter! Designed for children ages 7-11, the Benton’s Saturday Afternoon Studio sessions feature guided tours of current exhibitions and hands-on art making fun.

Peppermints, gumdrops, butterscotch and more! Participants will get creative as they design and build their own miniature graham cracker gingerbread-style house, complete with icing.

To ensure the highest quality instruction, all sessions are limited to twelve participants. Register early to secure your preferred dates; please contact Curator of Education, Mollie Sixsmith: mollie.sixsmith@uconn.edu.

$15 per student (includes all materials, instruction, and guided tour)

The Museum’s homeschool programs, designed for aspiring artists ages 5-12, are the perfect opportunity to tour exhibitions, try new art techniques, and explore creative writing activities.

After a scavenger hunt through the galleries, students will experiment with two different printing methods to create winter or holiday-themed cards.

$10 per student (includes all materials, instruction, and guided tour)

Register by phone to 860-486-1711 or email to mollie.sixsmith@uconn.edu

The economic and human challenges of the Great Depression prompted U.S. museums to re-evaluate their duties to the public. In answer, some practitioners in the 1930s and ‘40s championed the vision of the museum as a “social instrument” for democracy. Such a museum engaged with contemporary issues and incorporated new modes of immersive, storytelling into topical exhibitions to inspire museumgoers to take informed action on civic matters. This talk, based on Ceglio’s new book, "A Cultural Arsenal for Democracy: The World War II Work of US Museums", connects this history to present-day efforts by museums to harness the power of storytelling and become agents for social change.

Held in conjunction with the 2022 Digital Media and Design Faculty Exhibition.

Clarissa J. Ceglio is a U.S. cultural historian and Associate Professor of digital humanities in the Digital Media and Design Department at the UConn Storrs campus. Her research focuses on the roles that physical and digital artifacts play in constructing national and social imaginaries within the context of museum work, past and present.