Colorado College Academic Engagement
Explore creative teaching strategies and personalized support for courses at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.
About Academic Engagement
At the FAC, we approach academic engagement in two key ways:
Connecting Directly to Course Content
Our robust temporary exhibition and theatre programs bring a wide variety of arts experiences to Colorado College, while teaching artists offer hands-on direction in a range of media at the Bemis School of Art. The FAC facilitates engagements with artwork, artists, exhibitions, theatre productions, and hands-on art-making activities directly related to a variety of courses across disciplines. Some examples of recent projects include:
- A multidisciplinary exhibition exploring Muslim Futurism
- A ceramics session where biology students sculpted their own examples of an evolutionary step in an existing animal
- Live staged readings and workshops of a world premiere theatre production informed by a place-based, community-engaged research process
Building Skills
The FAC provides a space for students to practice the critical thinking skills integral to their success at CC and beyond. Facilitated exercises in our galleries offer opportunities for students to synthesize and apply their knowledge in different contexts. Some benefits of such skill-building exercises include:
- Extended looking exercises give language to the visual literacy and observational skills crucial to critical thinking
- Object-based learning with original artwork within the museum complements and expands the ways students think about primary sources in other disciplines
- Experiences within the museum can lower the stakes for intellectual risk-taking
Schedule a Class Visit
To request a class visit to the Fine Arts Center for a Guided Class Visit, a Collections Class Visit, a Hands-on Art Class Visit, or a Self-guided Tour, please complete the Class Visit Request Form.
Plan a Class Visit
Interested in teaching at the FAC? Explore opportunities at the museum for your class or department below or contact FACacademics@coloradocollege.edu to develop something new.
Guided Class Visit
Work with FAC Engagement staff to design a class plan tailored to the needs of your specific course — whether delving into exhibitions that connect with your coursework or making space for students to apply the critical thinking skills integral to a liberal arts education.
Collections Class Visit
The FAC has transformed 1,500 square feet of gallery space to highlight the often unseen, collections-based work of the museum. Bring your class to Agents of Care for uncommon experiences — including pulling artworks from storage chosen especially for your class, accessing the museum records, and more.
Book a Collections Class Visit
Learn more about Agents of Care
Hands-on Art Class Visit
Work with teaching artists at Bemis School of Art to incorporate hands-on art-making into your class. Hands-on activities can include everything from booking space and supplies for self-guided activities to tailoring a guided session to meet your class goals.
Self-guided Tour
Your class is always welcome at the FAC. Gold Card holders always receive free museum admission. Schedule a self-guided tour to ensure the best experience: assurance that your class won’t coincide with any potential disruptive events, ability to book private rooms for discussion, front desk support for quicker check in, etc.
eMuseum Brings the FAC to You
The FAC Museum has digitized over 3,000 records for objects stewarded in the permanent collection. Check out our ever-growing digital collection on eMuseum to create a virtual museum visit.
