Grades/Level: Lower Elementary (K–2), Upper Elementary (3–5), Middle School (6–8), High School (9–12)
Subjects: Visual Arts
Time Required: Short Activity
20 minutes
Author: J. Paul Getty Museum Education Staff

Activity Overview

It's only natural for visitors to want to touch the beautiful works of art they see in the Museum. Usually they don't realize the cumulative damage that results when many people touch an object, even very lightly. Before your visit, try this classroom activity to help your students understand why they cannot touch the art on display at the Getty Museum.

Learning Objectives

Students should be able to:
• discuss the importance of preserving art for future generations.

Materials

• Two ordinary pieces of white paper, about 4 x 5 inches
• Please Don't Touch! handout

Activity Steps

Step 1: Take two pieces of ordinary white paper (about 4 x 5 in.) and pass one of them around the classroom. Ask each student to rub the piece of paper between his or her fingers for a moment before passing it along.

Step 2: After everyone has touched the paper, have students compare it to the piece that was not passed around.

Step 3: Discuss how much dirt and oil are on the sheet that they touched and how these residues can damage works of art. Tell students that thousands of people visit the Museum every day, and speculate on what the paper might look like if thousands of people had touched it! Use their comments as a springboard for a discussion on the importance of preserving art for future generations. Why is it important to preserve works of art? What can we learn from art? What works of art in your home or in the community would they want to preserve? Why?