In keeping with the Society for Contemporary Craft's mission "to engage the public in the creative experience as expressed through contemporary crafts" educational programming is planned for many different audiences including general visitors and their children, SCC members, schools (both for students and teachers), and in the community for students in literacy programs, at-risk youth, and residents of nursing homes.

SCC's educational objectives are to involve the community in the appreciation and expression of art through craft media; to strengthen appreciation of the creative process as an important component in everyone's life; and to assist visitors in integrating exhibition information outside the gallery.

For more information about any of these programs please contact us at 412.261.7003 or email us at the Society for Contemporary Craft.

School Programs

•	School tours School visits, initiated by classroom teachers as part of their regular curriculum, include a discussion-based tour of the current exhibition, a discussion of objects in the permanent collection, and an opportunity to screen videos on contemporary crafts artists. Programs help students strengthen their critical thinking skills and acquire aesthetic observation tools in the context of contemporary art issues. Tour reservations should be made at least four weeks in advance. A hands-on activity can be incorporated into the visit. There is a minimal fee for the tour of $3.00 per student.
•	Museum/School Partnership In 1995, SCC began an intensive, long-term partnership with W. Liberty Classical Academy, an inclusionary Pittsburgh Public school magnet, whose student body of inner city youth, ages 12 to 14, is approximately 50% African American. The program allows 360 students to work first-hand with professional artists during their entire middle school experience. It is interdisciplinary, exploring ways in which art can be used to enhance learning in language arts, math, science, and social studies. The featured artists are fiber artist Tina Brewer (6th grade), metals artists Anna and Jan Loney (7th grade), and ceramic artist Laura McLaughlin (8th grade).     For more photos from the fall 2000 Museum/School Partnership classes with Tina Brewer click here.
•	Arts Curriculum Workshops Teachers learn various methods for incorporating craft into their curriculum. There is also training which is specific to each of the exhibitions. This is especially useful for teachers who are preparing their students for visits to the gallery. Curriculum guides are also available for teachers upon request.

In the Community

SCC has established off-site partnerships with social service agencies to explore programming opportunities and to reach nontraditional audiences. This program, "Community Partnerships (Art into Life)," focuses on the application of art to everyday situations and the use of art-making activities to enhance the development of creative problem-solving skills. By partnering with organizations that do not customarily incorporate the arts, SCC can reach nontraditional and diverse audiences, can explore fresh, exciting ways of approaching old problems, and can develop programs that have a richer level of input and development. These include:

•	Artists + Kidsis a summer residency program in which professional African American artists collaborate with African American youth from a low-income, urban neighborhoods to create new work and complete a community-based art project that teaches technical skills and builds self-esteem.
•	Salvation Army — Dreaming Pillow Project Continuing its efforts on behalf of Pittsburgh's homeless population, SCC partners with The Salvation Army's Families in Crisis Program to provide at-risk children and families-in-transition with accessible art activities designed to foster communication and personal growth while teaching new skills. Artists work with Children to create "Dreaming Pillows," beautifully embellished painted fabric pillows that invite the young artists to focus on dreams and possibilities, providing a tangible way for these at-risk youth to express hope.
	The program brings the children to SCC on an ongoing basis to see professional exhibitions and to participate in additional hands-on activities, and teaches the children — and their families — that there are valuable cultural resources in the community that are available to them at no charge.
•	Vehicle for Expression — Art on the Move Art on the Move incorporates the "Vehicle for Expression," a traveling activity cart that takes the SCC Children's Studio project to young people and their families in communities throughout Greene, Westmoreland, Beaver and Allegheny Counties where there are few existing arts enrichment activities.
•	Poetry Writing Workshops for Literacy Students This workshop takes place in the exhibition gallery, where students spend time together observing art, discussing it, then writing and sharing personal poems.
•	Nursing home outreach The creative process can be as vital at the end of life as in early childhood and can help restore a sense of beauty, dignity, and celebration. With the assistance of a volunteer who specializes in working with stroke patients, SCC offers outreach programs for nursing homes, using touchable objects and educational materials from the Loan Collection, and incorporating a hands-on, artist-taught activity. Program sites currently are in several Pittsburgh area communities. The program has included a four-week residency with artist Zarah Blair with titles such as "Me, Myself, and I" and "Personal Milestones."
•	Strip District Children's Projects