Beautiful Things: a field trip for art classes.

Where

Occidental Fine Arts Center, 311 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104, in Pioneer Square. The visit starts on the first floor; Beautiful Things is upstairs.

Cost

Free admission. [TO CONFIRM]: that school-group visits, including staff help at the stations, are free too.

Length

60 minutes at the gallery, door to door. Two classes can come the same day: the second arrives 25 minutes after the first, so only one class is upstairs at a time.

Bus

We can help pay for your school bus (details TBD).

Group size

About 20 students plus their adults per visit, with one adult for every 5 or 6 students.

When

Public hours are Wednesday to Saturday, 12 to 5. [TO CONFIRM]: whether school groups can come in the morning, before public hours.

Who runs it

Kirsten, who leads school visits and is your contact, with Noy and Neal. They're Foundation staff, not trained teachers.

Booking

[TO CONFIRM]: how to reach Kirsten and how booking works. For now, use the gallery's contact page. Contact page

Getting there

[TO CONFIRM]: bus drop-off, parking, and where to eat lunch. Occidental Park is a short walk away.

Accessibility

Beautiful Things is up one flight of stairs, and there's no elevator right now. A ground-floor version of the visit is to come; it isn't built yet. Please tell us about any access needs ahead of time so we can plan. A second emergency exit from the 2nd floor is planned. [TO CONFIRM]: accessible restrooms and seating. The room gets loud when the machines run; the paintings room is quieter.

What to expect

• The class starts on the first floor with a short talk and video, goes upstairs for design (typewriters, movie machines, TVs and games) and art (cat and dog paintings and a guess-the-original game), then comes back down to draw.
• One big floor of real old things: radios, phones, typewriters, movie machines, TVs, a game desk, signs, tools, and about 40 paintings.
• Some stations are made to be used. Students can type, crank, dial and play where staff say it's OK. Everything else is eyes only.
• Some machines are loud, and old movies and music may be playing.
• The room also has slot machines, a few bar items, and some joke videos made for adults. This route skips them, and chaperones can steer around them.
• Some objects have short AI-made videos where the object "talks." The objects are real. The videos are made up, and labeled that way.

Which grades

Best fit: grades 4 to 7. Third graders do well with an adult at each station, and eighth graders do well with the design-critique version. Fourth to seventh graders are old enough to read a label, sketch from life and talk about why something looks the way it does, and young enough that cranking a movie or typing on a 1926 typewriter still feels like magic. Many Washington schools also teach state history in grade 4 and again in middle school, which fits a room about Seattle's first hundred years.

Want more? Two longer lessons. Both use the classroom deck and need only paper and pencils. Do them in the week before the trip.

The class starts on the first floor with a short talk and video. Then everyone goes upstairs to Beautiful Things. In part 1, design, four teams, each with at least one adult, rotate through four stations (A to D). In part 2, art, the class splits in two: half at the AWWW Wall (H), half at Guess the Sargent (I), then switch. For part 3 the class comes back down, likely to the mezzanine, for a short drawing session, sitting down, with the drawing skills sheet (J). At every station students look closely, say what they notice and wonder, and sketch one thing.

Three rules to say at the door

1. Hands-on only where staff say. Type, crank, dial and play at the stations. Everywhere else: eyes close, hands off.
2. Walking feet, normal voices. Talking about what you see is the whole point.
3. Stay with your team. Your adult is your home base.

What to skip. Walk past the slot machines and the bar corner, and skip the joke videos made for adults. Nothing on this route needs them.

A

The typewriter table

Hands-on

The design idea. Every letter on a typewriter was drawn by a person and cut into metal. On most typewriters every letter takes the same width, so a skinny i gets as much room as a wide W.

Try it. Type your name and one short line. There is no undo: a mistake stays on the paper. [TO CONFIRM]: which machines students may type on, and whether paper is provided.

Look for

• Look at the keys. Are they round or square? What is printed on them?
• Find the fan of thin metal arms. Each one carries one letter.
• Find the maker's name. Was it painted, stamped or stuck on?

Notice and wonder. “I notice the letters look like...” “I wonder who drew these letters, and why that shape.”

Sketch. Draw one key at its real size. Then copy your name the way the typewriter printed it.

Objects at this station

• 

  Corona Four portable typewriter, in its case

  about 1926. Corona Typewriter Company, Groton, New York · object 4284

  A typewriter made to travel. It packs into a case with a handle, so a reporter or a student could carry it.

• 

  Royal and Remington typewriters

  about 1938 to 1955. Royal Typewriter Company and Remington · object 4270

  Office and portable machines. Big black desk machines like these filled offices for decades.

• 

  Brother Correct-O-Ball and Smith-Corona electric typewriters

  mid-1970s. Brother and Smith-Corona · object 3986

  Electric portables from fifty years later. Compare the keys and the shape of the case.

For the chaperone: Let each student type one line. Ask: what happens when you make a mistake?

B

Movies you crank by hand

Hands-on

The design idea. A movie is many still pictures shown fast. In the crank viewer each picture is printed on its own card, so students can see exactly what a frame is.

Try it. Turn the crank and watch the cards flip. Then watch a minute of an old film on a projector. [TO CONFIRM]: whether students may crank the Mutoscope (and if coins are provided), and which films play for school groups.

Look for

• Watch the edge of the reel. Can you see the separate cards?
• On the lantern slides, look for brush marks. Someone painted those by hand.
• On the lobby card, how many colors did the printer use?

Notice and wonder. “I notice the picture moves when...” “I wonder how many cards it takes to make one second of movie.”

Sketch. Draw a four-frame strip: something simple that moves a little in each box, like a ball bouncing.

Objects at this station

• 

  Mutoscope, a coin and crank movie viewer

  [TO CONFIRM]

  Put in a coin, turn the crank, and a reel of photo cards flips past a window. In his tour Andrew says not every town in the 1920s could afford a theater, and machines like this showed movies one person at a time.

  Not in the catalog yet. The plate on the machine reads "Mutoscope, New York." Its date, maker and the film on its reel are [TO CONFIRM].

• 

  Laterna Magica toy magic lantern set

  about 1900. Attributed to Johann Falk, Nuremberg · object 4200

  A small lamp, a lens, and glass slides painted by hand. It threw a picture on the wall for the whole room.

• 

  Ampro Paramount 20 film projector

  about 1947. Ampro Corporation, Chicago · object 4281

  A portable 16mm projector with sound, the kind schools and clubs used to show films.

• 

  Daniel Boone lobby card

  for the 1936 film · object 3929

  A printed card that hung in a theater lobby to sell the movie. Look at the lettering and the bright colors.

For the chaperone: Ask: how is this like a flip book? How is it different from a video on a phone?

C

Television as furniture

Looking

The design idea. The first home TVs were built to look like furniture, or molded in Bakelite, an early plastic. Designers had to decide what a brand-new machine should look like in a living room.

Look for

• Find the smallest screen. Measure it with your fingers.
• Which sets look like furniture? Which look like toys?
• Read the knobs. What words did they need to print on them?

Notice and wonder. “I notice the screen is shaped like...” “I wonder why people wanted a TV to look like furniture.”

Sketch. Draw one TV from the front. Then draw a quick redesign made for your own room.

[TO CONFIRM]: which sets show a picture, what plays on them, and that it is fine for students.

Objects at this station

• 

  Pilot TV-37 "Candid" television

  1948. Pilot Radio Corporation · object 8927

  A screen only three inches across. It was the first American TV to sell for under $100.

• 

  Admiral 19A11 television

  about 1948 to 1949. Admiral · object 8929

  A 7-inch screen in a molded brown Bakelite case.

• 

  Philco console television

  about 1948. Philco · object 3893

  A 10-inch round-cornered screen in a mahogany cabinet on tapered legs, made to stand in the living room like a piece of furniture.

For the chaperone: Ask: if you were the designer in 1948, what would you want a TV to look like?

D

Games and the first home computer

Hands-on

The design idea. Early video game pictures were built from big square blocks, because the machines had very little memory. Artists had to say a lot with a few blocks and a few colors.

Try it. Play a short turn on the Atari. [TO CONFIRM]: which games are set up, how long a turn is, and whether the VIC-20 is switched on.

Look for

• Look closely at the screen. Can you see the blocks?
• Find the wood grain on the Atari. Is it real wood?
• Hold the joystick. How did the designer make it fit a hand?

Notice and wonder. “I notice the characters on the screen are made of...” “I wonder how the artist made a picture with so few blocks.”

Sketch. In the 8 by 8 grid, design a game character. Fill in only the squares you need.

Objects at this station

• 

  Atari 2600, the "woody" four-switch model

  made about 1980 to 1982. Atari, Inc., Sunnyvale, California · object 8878

  The 2600 first came out in 1977. This one has a wood-grain front, on a computer, so it would look at home next to the furniture.

• 

  Commodore VIC-20 home computer

  1981. Commodore · object 8937

  It plugged into the family TV. In his tour, Andrew says it was his first computer.

For the chaperone: Keep turns short so everyone plays. Ask: how is this picture made differently from a painting?

Also in the room: E, F and G

Fast finishers, a longer visit, or a second trip. Teams that finish early can stop at one of these, and the looking hunt includes them.

E

The radio wall and the phone table

Hands-on

The design idea. Designers have names. Raymond Loewy shaped a radio like a globe. Henry Dreyfuss's team designed the black desk phone that sat in most American homes.

Try it. Dial a number on the red rotary phone. Dial 0 and feel how long the dial takes to come back. [TO CONFIRM]: which phone students may use.

Look for

• Find the globe radio. Where is the speaker hiding?
• Find a radio made of wood and one made of plastic. How can you tell?
• On a phone, look at the holes in the dial. Why are they round?

Notice and wonder. “I notice the radios are shaped like...” “I wonder why a radio needed to be beautiful to sound good.”

Sketch. Draw the front of one radio as simple shapes: circles, arches, grids. Then give it a name.

Objects at this station

• 

  Colonial "New World" globe radio

  1933. Designed by Raymond Loewy for the Colonial Radio Corporation · object 2419

  A radio shaped like the whole planet. The speaker hides in the base.

• 

  Atwater Kent Model 82 cathedral radio

  1931. Atwater Kent, Philadelphia; designed by Charles S. Bradley · object 2655

  The pointed wooden case looks like a church window, which is why people call these cathedral radios.

• 

  Western Electric Model 500 desk telephones

  made 1950 to 1984. Designed by Henry Dreyfuss Associates for the Bell System · object 4263

  For more than thirty years this was the phone in most American homes.

For the chaperone: Ask: which radio would you put in your room, and why?

F

Made by hand

Looking

The design idea. Before factories did everything, people made and decorated useful things by hand. You can still see the marks they left.

Look for

• Find a worn or shiny spot where hands touched something for years.
• Find the blue brushstroke on the crock. How many strokes did it take?
• On a duck decoy, count the painted colors.

Notice and wonder. “I notice a mark a hand made here...” “I wonder who made this, and if they ever thought it would be in a gallery.”

Sketch. Find one handmade mark and copy it big, in one stroke if you can.

Objects at this station

• 

  Spinning wheel

  about 1875 · object 4125

  Turned from hardwood. A foot pedal spins the wheel, which twists flax into thread for linen.

• 

  Red Wing stoneware crock with a blue "bee sting"

  about 1885. Red Wing, Minnesota · object 3938

  One quick stroke of cobalt blue, brushed on by a worker's hand, made a plain storage jar look special.

• 

  Four duck decoys

  about 1940 to 1970 · object 4034

  Cork bodies, carved wooden heads, and feathers painted on with a brush.

• 

  Folk-art model wagon

  about 1940 to 1970. Maker unknown · object 4039

  A hand-built model loaded with tiny grain sacks, kegs and a carved saddle.

For the chaperone: Eyes only here. Ask: how can you tell a person made this, not a machine?

G

Signs, boxes and lunchboxes

Looking

The design idea. Real people designed every old sign and box: the lettering, the few bright colors, the mascot. That job is called graphic design.

Look for

• Pick one sign. Count the colors the printer used.
• Find two different styles of lettering.
• Find a mascot or a face. What is it trying to make you feel?

Notice and wonder. “I notice the lettering on this sign is...” “I wonder why they used so few colors.”

Sketch. Copy one word from a sign in its own lettering style. Then write your name in that style.

Objects at this station

• 

  Norka Orange tin sign

  mid-1950s. Norka Beverage Company, Akron, Ohio · object 4317

  Read the name backward: Norka is Akron, the city where it was made.

• 

  Kayo chocolate drink tin sign

  about 1950 · object 4320

  A cartoon face and big lettering, made to catch your eye in a store.

• 

  Jerome B. Rice seed box

  about 1900 to 1910. Jerome B. Rice Seed Company, Cambridge, New York · object 3964

  A wooden store display with a color printed picture inside the lid.

• 

  Tom Corbett, Space Cadet lunchbox and thermos

  1952. Aladdin Industries · object 4143

  A metal lunchbox printed with a TV space hero.

For the chaperone: Ask: if you had to sell lemonade with a sign like this, what would yours look like?

H

The AWWW Wall: cats and dogs in paintings

Looking

The art idea. Before cameras, people who loved their pets asked painters to remember them. Painters made fur look soft and eyes look alive, one small brushstroke at a time.

Look for

• Count the kittens in Cats. Where is each one hiding?
• Find a tiny white dot of light in an eye. What does it do to the eye?
• Find fur painted with many small strokes. Which way do the strokes go?

Notice and wonder. “I notice the painter made the fur look...” “I wonder who this pet belonged to, and what its name was.”

Sketch. Pick one pet. Draw a circle for the head and an oval for the body. Then add ears, fur strokes, and a dot of light in each eye.

[TO CONFIRM]: the titles and painters of the other paintings on this wall, and that the three listed here are hanging on it now.

Objects at this station

• 

  A Red Rose

  about 1880. Horatio Henry Couldery, English painter, born 1832 · artwork 3330

  Three tabby kittens, a straw hat and one red rose. Couldery painted so many cats that people nicknamed him Kitten Couldery.

  The collection record marks the date as an estimate, and gives two different years for Couldery's death ([TO CONFIRM]).

• 

  Cats

  [TO CONFIRM]. Jules Leroy · artwork 1526

  Four kittens making trouble: two on a little cabinet, one in the drawer, and one tangled in blue yarn. Follow the yarn with your eye.

  [TO CONFIRM]: the date, and the painter's dates. The collection record does not give them.

• 

  Girl with Dog

  1873. Gustave Walther, German painter, 1828 to 1904 · artwork 1572

  An oval portrait of a girl holding her small dog, which wears a red bow. Look for the tiny dot of light in her eyes.

• The St. Bernard at the desk

  [TO CONFIRM]

  A big dog sitting at a desk piled with papers. In his tour, Andrew jokes that it shows dogs paying the bill.

  [TO CONFIRM]: the title, the painter and the date. This painting is not in the public collection records.

For the chaperone: Ask: which pet would you take home, and what would you name it? Then: how did the painter make the fur look soft?

I

The paintings room: guess the Sargent

Looking

The art idea. Painters learn by copying the masters. Here three versions of one portrait hang side by side, and students try to tell the original from the copies.

Look for

• Stand back, then step close. What changes?
• Look at the edges of the face and the hands. Which are soft and which are sharp?
• Find one brushstroke you can follow with your eye.

Notice and wonder. “I notice this version is different because...” “I wonder how long it takes to copy a painting this well.”

Sketch. Draw just the hands or just the eyes from one portrait, as carefully as you can.

Objects at this station

• 

  Guess the Sargent: three versions of one portrait

  [TO CONFIRM]

  In his tour, Andrew says one of these three portraits is by John Singer Sargent and the other two are copies.

  [TO CONFIRM]: which one is the Sargent, the sitter and date, and who painted the copies. The catalog lists a "Copy after John Singer Sargent" by Emma Garay (2025, oil on linen), which may be one of them.

• The Fishmongers of Pike Place Market

  2026. Jackson Wrede, oil on linen · object 4392

  A new painting of fish sellers at Seattle's market.

  [TO CONFIRM]: that it is still on view.

For the chaperone: Have the team vote on which one is the original, with one reason each. Don't give away the answer.

J

Drawing studio: draw what you see

Hands-on

The drawing idea. Artists don't draw what they think something looks like. They draw what they see. Four quick exercises, done sitting down, use the things students just met.

Try it. Four short exercises on the drawing-skills sheet, about 20 minutes in all: a blind contour of your own hand (2 minutes), a contour of a typewriter (4), a TV from big shapes (4), and a pet portrait from a painting (8). Then sign it. [TO CONFIRM]: where the class can sit, and whether the gallery can lend clipboards.

Look for

• Look at the thing more than at your paper.
• Squint. The details disappear and the big shapes are left.
• Find the lightest spot and the darkest shadow.

Notice and wonder. “I notice the shape under this is a...” “I wonder how the painter started this picture.”

Sketch. Use the drawing-skills sheet: one box for each exercise.

Objects at this station

• 

  Corona Four portable typewriter

  about 1926 · object 4284

  For a contour drawing: let your eyes travel slowly along the edges, and let your pencil follow.

• 

  Motorola VT-71 "Golden View" television

  about 1949. Motorola · object 8930

  For big shapes: it is a box with a circle inside. Draw the box, then the round screen, then the knobs.

• 

  A pet from the AWWW Wall

  · artwork 3330

  For a pet portrait: circle head, triangle ears, oval body, fur strokes that follow the fur, and a dot of light in each eye.

For the chaperone: Sit with your team and draw too. Praise looking, not perfect: point to one thing they really saw.

Want more? My beautiful useful thing

Every object in the gallery was useful and also made to look good. Students design and build a model of an everyday object for someone they know, and make it beautiful on purpose.

Two or three class periods of about 45 minutes.

Steps

1. Pick a job and a person: something to wake Grandma up, play music for a little brother, carry lunch, send a message, or play a game.
2. Pick a look from your field journal: the arches of a cathedral radio, shiny Bakelite, wood grain, or tin-sign lettering.
3. Draw three small thumbnail ideas. Pick the best one and draw it from the front and the side.
4. Build it from cardboard and tape. Use caps and lids for knobs and dials.
5. Add one handmade mark: a pattern, a painted stroke like the blue bee sting, or your own lettering for the brand name.
6. Write a museum label and set up a class gallery walk.

design:

a plan for how something will look and work, made before it is built

designer:

a person whose job is to plan how things look and work

industrial designer:

a designer of everyday products, like radios, phones and toasters

graphic design:

designing with letters, pictures and colors, like signs, boxes and posters

form:

the shape of an object

function:

the job an object does

decoration:

something added to make an object look good, like a pattern or a painted stroke

material:

what something is made of: wood, metal, glass, plastic

Bakelite:

an early plastic, pressed into molds to make radios, phones and TVs

lettering:

letters drawn by hand or designed for a sign or a product

typeface:

one design for a whole set of letters, like the letters on a typewriter

frame:

one still picture in a movie; many frames shown fast look like motion

pixel:

one tiny square of a screen picture

craft:

making something useful by hand, with skill

maker's mark:

a name, stamp or sign that shows who made something

patina:

the soft wear and shine an object gets from years of use

master copy:

a careful copy of a famous painting, made by an artist to learn

contour drawing:

drawing the edges of an object slowly, looking more at the object than the paper

portrait:

a picture of one particular person or animal

texture:

how something feels, or looks like it would feel, like soft fur or smooth glass

catchlight:

the tiny dot of light a painter puts in an eye to make it look shiny and alive

value:

how light or dark something is; press lightly for light values, harder for dark

notice and wonder:

say what you see, then what you are curious about

Codes and wording are from the Washington State K-12 Arts Learning Standards for Visual Arts and for Media Arts (OSPI, 2017), which use the National Core Arts Standards codes. The letter at the end of each code is the performance standard within that grade.