Teach
This exhibition and collection open many opportunities for students to build their knowledge and appreciation of pre-Columbian artifacts through a pedagogical approach. Lesson plans designed around a hands-on experience of mixing salt-dough clay to modeling techniques based on ancient handbuilding techniques encourage students to engage with ancient cultural practices. Shaping Cultural Understanding through pre-Columbian Artistic Heritage and Modeling Techniques is an opportunity for students to strengthen their understanding of ancient histories and reflect on the efforts these communities took to create art.
To emphasize the efforts it took to source the clay and shape pre-Columbian artifacts, students are encouraged to participate in creating their own clay materials through a salt-dough clay recipe. It is a simple process of mixing salt, flour, and water together to create this clay-like material. The recipe takes nearly twenty minutes to form the clay, and it can be stored in a fridge for a couple of weeks.
