The San Antonio Museum of Art is more than a collection of paintings, sculptures, and other objects. It is a collection of stories told by people from all over the world across time. But because these stories are without words, many of them must be read in the faces we see there, faces of people and animals, sometimes real, sometimes disguised. Some of the faces are mysterious and strange, while some remind us of ourselves and people we know today.

Throughout these lessons, students and teachers can learn to “read” the rich stories woven by countless know and unknown artists. By understanding the cultural implications in such things as expression and proportion and by recognizing metaphysical content and mythological context, we develop a sense of self and connectedness to humanity, and an appreciation of cultural differences and similarities.

The lessons are structured horizontally as Pre-Visit, Museum-Visit, and Post-Visit activities. They are structured vertically as Primary, Intermediate, and Secondary level activities. They are designed to provide a holistic interface with the treasures at the San Antonio Museum of Art and to encourage life-long learning through museum education.

The PDF files of the lessons can be downloaded for use offline: Primary, Intermediate, Secondary. If you would like to share your museum lesson plans, please submit them with the following form. This database of educator lesson plans can be searched with this page.

This site is best viewed at a resolution of 1280 x 1024. To view the interactive features of the site, the Macromedia Flash plug-in or player needs to be installed. This is a free download from the Macromedia web site. To view the PDF versions of the lessons, download the free Acrobat Reader from the Adobe web site.