Educational Programs
The Museum offers educational programs for all ages throughout the year, including events related to current exhibits. These include events such as lectures, concerts, trips, films, fine art classes, summer art camps, and special grant-funded initiatives for schools and the community. Please see our Events Calendar for a current schedule.
At right, participants enjoy a Saturday Workshop on The Polaroid Image Transfer Process with Anna Tomczak, April 2009.
Art and Story Hour
A program designed for children and their families. The group meets in the Interactive Gallery from 6 to 7 p.m. the first Thursday of the month. Free to members; included with admission for non-members. For information contact Patti Buster or 712-5226.
Featured books Nov. 5:
Louie! by Will Hillenbrand; Art Dog by Thacher Hurd; and Lines that Wiggle by Candace Whitman
Featured books Dec. 3:
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Martin; The Christmas Alphabet by Robert Sabuda; and The Clever Stick by John Lechner
Art, Books and Community (ABC) Reading Club
Read and discuss books about modern art on selected Fridays of every other month from 10 am to noon at the museum. Light refreshments will be served and the cost of each meeting is free with museum admission. Participants can purchase a book on their own, purchase one in Isabelle’s Museum Store (copies limited) or use the interlibrary loan service at Palm Harbor Library.
Meeting dates and titles are:
- Friday, November 13, 2009: Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo, by Hayden Herrera
- Friday, January 22, 2010: The Unknown Matisse (Vol. 1), by Hilary Spurling
- Friday, March 19, 2010: Matisse the Master (Vol. 2), by Hilary spurling
Museum Tours
Guided tours of the Museum are offered every Sunday at 1:30 and 2 pm and are free of charge. Guided tours for community and school groups may be pre-arranged by calling (727) 712-5226. Group tour admission fees are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and by donation for children under 18 and students and educators with current ID. School tours include a studio art activity.
At right, Florida Highwaymen artists Mary Ann Carroll and Robert Lewis, from the LRMA Highwaymen Family Festival, February 2008.
Teacher Resources
A resource guide to the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art is available for educators teaching grades K-12. Modern Mosaic includes an introduction to 20th century culture, biographies of Abraham Rattner, Esther Gentle Rattner, and Allen Leepa, and curriculum activities aligned with the Florida Sunshine State Standards. To request a copy for your classroom, please call (727) 712-5226.
At left: Performing Artist Nan Colton teaches children about Guernica, Pablo Picasso’s anti-war mural. A full-scale replica of the famous mural is on display in the Interactive Gallery. (Image from “In Black & White: Pablo Picasso, Dora Maar and Guernica,” a Museum and Pinellas County Schools partnership funded in part by the Pinellas County Commission through the Pinellas County Cultural Affairs Cultural Development Grants Program.)
