Art can tell viewers a story. It can also ask them to use their imaginations. The sculptures in the Carlos Museum’s Classical Court tell viewers things like how the ancients dressed, who was important, and what plants would have been familiar to them. They ask viewers to imagine them as complete works of art.
Puzzling Pigments, a new SmARTy Pack activity, is now available to help children and their families “fill in the blanks.” In antiquity, many of the museum’s sculptures would have been decorated with colorful pigments made from minerals such as cinnabar and malachite.
Through a puzzle that reveals how a marble relief may have looked around the year 14 AD, a close-looking exercise involving a statue of the muse Terpsichore, and an untarnished piece of bronze visitors can compare to oxidized objects in the gallery, Puzzling Pigments invites visitors to consider what the museum’s artwork would have looked like to ancient viewers and understand how it has changed over time.
Visit the information desk to check out a SmARTy Pack containing Puzzling Pigments and two other activities for free.
The fun continues: sign up for our e-newsletter to learn about new additions to the SmARTy Packs and other activities for children and families!
SmARTy Packs are funded by the David R. Clare and Margaret C. Clare Foundation.
