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BACKGROUND ACTIVITIES:
Activity One
The purpose of this activity is to provide students with background information on the Walt Disney Concert Hall and to encourage students to explore reasons people support the arts.
1. Read the following information aloud to the class:
In 1987, the late Lillian Disney, Walt Disney's widow, made an initial gift of $50 million to build a world-class performance venue as a gift to the people of Los Angeles and a tribute to her husband's devotion to the arts. Since then, other gifts and accumulated interest have brought the Disney family's total contribution to more than $100 million. The County of Los Angeles provided the land and significant additional funding to finance the hall's six-level subterranean parking garage.
2. Divide the students into pairs and ask them to brainstorm answers to the following questions:
- Why do you think people give money to support the arts?
- Why do you think Lillian Disney donated money to build a new concert hall in Los Angeles?
- If you donated money to support the arts, what kind of program would you choose (music, art, dance, theater, photography, etc.)? Why?
Allow the students to briefly discuss these questions with their partners, and then ask for volunteers to share their thoughts with the entire class.
Activity Two
The purpose of this activity is to introduce the students to varied aspects of architecture.
1. Explore the following Web sites with your students to introduce different aspects of architecture:
2. After you have finished looking through these Web sites, ask the students to respond to the following questions:
- What did you learn about architecture?
- What did you find the most interesting or surprising?
- What would you like to know more about?
STEPS:
Activity One
The purpose of this activity is for students to conduct research on different elements of the Walt Disney Concert Hall and create a classroom exhibit.
1. Divide the class into small groups to research different aspects of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The students will use what they learn to create a classroom exhibit on the hall.
2. Provide each group with its assignment. Encourage the students to be creative in their presentations. They might wish to include text, images, drawings, models, or sound.
Group One: Construction
Create a presentation to teach your classmates about the construction of the interior and exterior of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Use the following Web sites as resources:
Group Two: Frank Gehry
Create a presentation to teach your classmates about Frank Gehry, the architect who designed the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Use the following Web site as a resource:
Group Three: Frank Gehry's Work
Create a presentation to teach your classmates about different projects that architect Frank Gehry has designed. Use the following Web sites as resources:
Group Four: Acoustics & Design
Create a presentation to teach your classmates about the acoustical design of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Use the following Web site as a resource:
Activity Two
The purpose of this activity is for the students to plan and create a "Dream Music Space."
1. Read the following aloud to your class:
Imagine a wonderful and perfect place where you can listen to the kinds of music you love in a space that you enjoy. In this activity you are going to create your own distinctive "Dream Music Space." It will be a place that is aesthetically appealing to you. This means it will be designed to reflect all the things that you think are essential to an enjoyable musical experience. It might be a small corner of a room or a grandly beautiful concert hall atop a mountain. It might be colored with brilliant purple or soft and muted brown. There might be room for 50 of your friends to join you, or it might contain a small couch that comfortably seats two. The sound system might be state-of-the-art, or a headset meant for your ears alone. This is a space that is uniquely your own. To help you plan your "Dream Music Space," you are going to fill out a survey.
2. Pass out the "Dream Music Space Survey" to the class.
3. After the students have completed the survey, ask them to form groups of three and share their plans. Encourage the students to learn from one another as they discuss their ideas.
4. Ask each student to draw his or her ideal "Dream Music Space," using the materials and format of their choice.
5. Allow time for each student to present his or her work to the whole class. Encourage positive feedback among your students.
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:
Have your students explore The International Archive of Women in Architecture at http://spec.lib.vt.edu/IAWA/ and select an area to research. Ask them to write a brief news article on what they have learned. Collect the articles in a classroom folder and label it "Interesting Topics." You may wish to have students add additional articles to the folder on topics of their choice. Encourage the students to browse through the file and read about subjects their classmates found interesting.
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