Traveling time machine delivers art to area schools
Vol. 17, No. 9Oct. 30, 1997

Museum in Motion
 Traveling time machine delivers art to area schools

Dylan Chapp, age 7, a second grader at West Park Place Elementary School, gasps in amazement at the treasure his mother, Belena Chapp, UD director of museums, pulls from MIM.
The newest member of the staff at the University Gallery is best described as, well, shiny. Made of aluminum and tastefully decorated with just a few blinking lights and secret drawers, MIM, the Museum in Motion, is a robot-like time machine that materialized in the University Gallery over the summer.

Designed by sculptor David Meyer, exhibit preparator, MIM will accompany Belena Chapp, UD director of museums, on trips to schools in the Newark area to present arts and museum education and appreciation programs.

Chapp got the inspiration for MIM from the book, The Great Art Adventure, by Bob Knox an from a talk by Ed Able of the American Association of Museums, who believes museums and galleries should make contributions to their surrounding communities.

Chapp explained the idea to Meyer, who, she said, "has a fantastic imagination and the skills to go along with it." Between the two of them, MIM was born.

"Of course it's a time machine that can only travel back in time and only look at works of art, and we were careful not to over-dazzle the audience with lights and bells and whistles, but in small doses, it's pretty exciting," Chapp said.

Specifically, Chapp helps MIM whirl around (slowly and carefully) and travel back in time, to retrieves "treasures" from the University Gallery's collection.

They appear as if by magic in secret storage compartments in MIM's back.

Depending on the school they are visiting and the curriculum they are augmenting, Chapp and MIM might reveal icons, masks or items from ancient Egypt.

Students are likely to respond with wide eyes and surprised sounds over things that Chapp extracts from MIM. All the while, she is teaching a related lesson and sometimes reading children's art books.

"The idea behind MIM is to make the gallery come alive for children. We want children to feel empowered...to know that they have as much right to enjoy museums as anyone else. We also talk about appropriate museum behavior, about 'touching with your eyes,' the right and wrong way to handle different kinds of art. We put everything in a language they can understand," Chapp said.

MIM made his debut at the University Gallery on Saturday, Oct. 25, before 30 children, ages 5-8, and their parents, who attended a special tour. MIM also strutted its stuff at the Delaware Division of the Arts' Art Summit. By all reactions, Chapp said, he's a big hit.