A woman and her three children are looking at a colorful, decorative fountain in a museum, surrounded by glass and ceramic artworks.
Group of children and a few adults in an art gallery, listening to a female guide speaking in front of an abstract artwork on the wall.
Two young girls painting at a table with paint and brushes, inside an art studio.

Education / Educational program for schools – Museum JAN

Viewing art inspires, amazes, and raises questions. You’ll learn to observe more closely, think critically, articulate your opinions, and develop your own creativity. At our museum, students come face to face with original works of art. Our educational programs are filled with surprising, hands-on activities that inspire, stimulate, and motivate. The lessons are taught by experienced museum educators who welcome and guide students with great enthusiasm.

Customized program
A museum visit becomes even more enjoyable when organized in collaboration with schools. Do you have your own ideas, or would you like to align with a theme within the school curriculum? We’d be happy to brainstorm with you to make it an unforgettable experience for students. Email us at educatie@museumjan.nl.

Primary education

Party with paint! (groups 1-6) Museum JAN displays paintings by Sam Francis: an explosion of color and form. You can look at art, but art can also make you feel something. As we walk through the museum hall, we ask questions such as: was the artist angry, happy, or sad when he created this? Which color corresponds to which emotion? With these questions in mind, the children get to work in the JAN JUNIOR studio. Here they experiment with finger paint to create their own action painting. Fun guaranteed!

My museum house (groups 3-4) Co-founder Jan Verschoor lives in Museum JAN. Imagine living in a museum yourself! After a short tour of the museum, the children build their own museum in a diorama. How do you decorate it, what color do you paint the walls, who lives there, and what do you hang above the sofa? Each student creates their own miniature museum to take home with them.

Art in Motion (groups 5-6) In 'Art in Motion', pupils discover how artists create movement in images. The first lesson consists of an introductory video in which our museum docent explains and asks quiz questions about moving art, such as that of Jean Tinguely and Studio Drift. In the second lesson, the pupils are given a tour of Rob Brünnmayer's 'windmobiles', after which they create their own moving artwork. In the final lesson at school, the participants get to work with a wound disc.

From PET bottle to glass art (groups 7-8) Museum JAN has an extensive collection of glass art by major national and international artists. The program begins with a guided tour and a treasure hunt, followed by a workshop. Inspired by glass artist Bernard Heesen, the students transform a plastic PET bottle into a colorful work of glass art using paint and gemstones!

Secondary education

Painting in action (grades 1-6) The permanent collection of Museum JAN includes action paintings by Sam Francis. His canvases display an explosion of form and color. During the painting process, the artist expresses all kinds of emotions. We start with a guided tour of his work and then get to work ourselves in the studio. See and feel the action in Sam Francis' work and create a spectacular work of art in his abstract style. Ready to start? Let's paint!

Is that really art?! (grades 4-6) In this program, we try to answer the question 'what is art?' Is it important that something is original or well-made? Combined with assignments in the museum galleries, the museum docent engages the students in a discussion about what they do and do not consider to be art. The focus is not only on the answer, but above all on formulating their own opinion.