For the safety and well-being of our visitors, the Education Resource Center has been closed as part of our ongoing response to the coronavirus. The Outreach Suitcase program has also been suspended until further notice.

New! Expanded activities and resources for use by educators and families can be found in the Online Learning Resources and Look and Make Activities boxes below! 

The Education Resource Center (ERC) is a launch pad to explore works of art and spark creative learning. The ERC supports inclusive and engaging art experiences through free resources for families, educators, and youth at the museum, in the classroom, and at home.

The Ann P. Wyckoff Education Resource Center (ERC), formerly known as the Teacher Resource Center (TRC), is located at the Seattle Art Museum.

HOURS

DROP BOX HOURS

Until further notice, borrowed materials can be returned ONLY to the ERC drop box (accessible every day from 6 am to 11 pm), located at the parking garage of the Olympic Sculpture Park.

Contact Us

206.654.3186
Email us
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SAM has a variety of resources, both at the museum and online, to enrich your learning and teaching.

New! We are expanding our online offerings for use by both teachers and families. For ready-to-use, age-appropriate, printable activities focused on individual artworks from the museum, see our new Look & Make Activities below.

For your curricular needs, access Educator Resource Guides, Educator Resource Lists, and Online Interactives below.

Educator Resource Guides

Educator Resource Lists

Online Interactives

SAM Libraries

Looking for general information on the artists, periods, styles, and cultures represented in SAM's collections? See lists of resources curated by research librarians at SAM Libraries​​​​​​​.

SAM Collections

Looking for information about SAM’s artworks, including those currently on view? Access art images, overviews from curators, and related media from SAM’s online collection. Learn how​ to use this dynamic resource.

Artstor

ERC registered borrowers who are K–12 classroom teachers can also access Artstor, an online digital library of art images, in their classroom for free.​​​​

New! These ready-to-use, printable activities focus on individual artworks from the museum and are tailored for specific age groups. Each activity sheet includes looking questions, information about the art, related media, and a making activity using basic materials. Available in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

Download instructions: under each activity, choose a language and a pdf will open. Choose “All” to view a list in SAM's library catalog.

You may also view lists of the available Look & Make Activities in the library catalog using the View by Age Group or Language buttons. In the list, choose a title and scroll to the bottom, then click the page icon under “Media” to download the pdf.

Animals, Container in the Form of a Bull Bearing a Pot 12th to early 13th century, Iranian or Iraqi (Persian)
Look closely at an eight-hundred-year-old ceramic sculpture from Iran, try out different animal movements, and make your own animal-shaped container.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Seasons, Picnicking Under Cherry Blossoms and Boating on the River by Nishikawa Sukenobu
Examine the details of this 18th century painted Japanese screen, act out the life cycle of a tree, read about springtime explorations, and make your own multimedia artwork inspired by nature.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Shapes, Mondlicht by Alexi Jawlensky
Learn more about Jawlensky’s abstract painting, do shape yoga, listen to a story, and create a portrait from shapes.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Grades K-2: Dance, Trapsprung by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
Learn more about Lynette Yiadom-Boakye's dynamic painting, move like a dancer, and express your movements in a foil sculpture.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Grades K-2: Environment, Middle Fork by John Grade
Learn more about Grade’s huge collaborative sculpture, hold a yoga pose, read about trees, and make your own tree sculpture out of a paper bag.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Grades K-2: Recycled Materials, Takpekpe by El Anatsui
Study El Anatsui’s sculpture made using recycled materials, go on a home scavenger hunt for patterns, read about recycling and art, and design your own work using recycled materials.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Grades K-5: Lines, The Eagle by Alexander Calder
Examine Calder’s giant outdoor sculpture and learn about lines in abstract art. Move your body like different types of lines, learn about Calder’s childhood artwork, and create your own drawing using different kinds of lines.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Grades K-5: Nature, A Branch of the Cold Season by Yang Hui
Explore the Yang Hui and Monk Zen painting, go for a walk, listen to stories about nature, and create your own nature-inspired poem and artwork with a friend.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Grades 3-5: Empathy, ChimaTEK: Virtual Chimeric Space by Saya Woolfalk
Immerse yourself in Woolfalk’s multimedia art installation, explore concepts of empathy via videos and graphic novels, and design a prototype for an empathy-spreading invention.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Grades 3-5: Storytelling, Carpe Fin by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Dive into Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas’ Haida manga, explore storytelling through graphic novels, learn about Pacific Northwest Coastal formline design, and create your own comic.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Animation, Flower Ball, by Takashi Murakami
Be drawn into the depths of Murakami's animated painting, learn about the interplay between art and pop culture, and design your own cartoon character based on an everyday object.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Identity, Some/One, by Do Ho Suh
Examine Suh’s exploration of individual and group identity in his large-scale, intricate sculpture. Think about how personal objects you wear or carry can express your identity, and create your own paper mosaic inspired by a significant object.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Imagination, Bewitched #2 Seoul, by Jung Yeondoo
Spark your imagination with Jung Yeondoo’s photography, consider your own future, and make a collage representing a friend’s dream.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Music, Music, Pink and Blue, No. 1, by Georgia O'Keeffe
Feel the music in O’Keeffe’s abstract painting; learn more about the intersection of music, emotion, and visual art; and create your own experiential sketches inspired by favorite songs.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Collaboration, Amerocco by Aaron Fowler
Immerse yourself in the details of Aaron Fowler’s collaborative mixed-media installation, take a virtual tour of the piece with former SAM intern Ramzy Lakos, and assemble your own dream team by making a collage.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Place, Seattle Cloud Cover by Teresita Fernández
Immerse yourself in Fernández’s large-scale, site-specific art installation at the Olympic Sculpture Park. Learn more about public art, landscape, and senses of place, and create your own collage based on place, patterns, and colors meaningful to you.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

Social Justice, Breakfast Series by Sonny Assu
Take in Assu’s humorous cereal box redesign meant to draw attention to social justice issues affecting indigenous communities of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Learn about the intersection of political activism, social justice movements and art, and design your own poster to raise awareness of a social issue.

Download PDF: English  Spanish  Chinese  All

View by Age Group OR Language

Early Learners

Elementary Grades

Middle School

High School

English

Spanish

Chinese

The ERC offers art resources for both families and educators. The ERC offers interdisciplinary materials to help integrate art into any classroom. Register as a borrower with the ERC for free to check out materials, access online image collections, and reserve Outreach Suitcases. ERC borrowers do not need to be members of SAM and include teachers, principals, home school educators, parents, art volunteers, student teachers, education students, and community arts educators.

The ERC collection will connect you to curriculum guides, books, posters, videos, and CDs, as well as an extensive collection of video and image kits from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. With registration, educators receive a Complimentary Educator’s Pass for a visit to either the Seattle Art Museum or Asian Art Museum, advance notice about educator programs, and 20% off membership to the Seattle Art Museum plus a 10% discount at SAM Shop (proof of current employment as an educator is required.

Search the ERC Online Catalogue for art education materials (available for a two-week loan), children's books, or for the perfect online resource.

Don’t see the title you’re looking for? We welcome suggestions for new resources to add to our collection. Email us or call 206.654.3186 to make your suggestion.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, the Outreach Suitcase program is suspended until further notice.

SAM Outreach Suitcases are collections of objects from diverse cultures, times, and places that students can touch, examine, and discuss. Unpack art in your classroom with these free learning resources.​

Suitcases

Reserve Now

Suitcase Connections​​

The ERC is here to help bring engaging art-based learning to your classroom. Need personalized lesson planning support? Schedule an individual appointment with the ERC Librarian/Educator for you and your colleagues.