LEARN: Public Programs

Olana's Wagon House Education Center is celebrating its third season.

The state-of-the-art Education Center is home to public programs that promote The Olana Partnership mission: "To inspire the public by preserving and interpreting Olana, Frederic Church's artistic masterpiece." Ongoing programs, classes for all ages, workshops, lectures, special events, meetings, children's summer programs, performances and exhibitions all take place in this amazing space whose large glass windows overlook the Olana landscape. We offer "drop-in" programs as well as formal programming to encourage new visitors as well as the community to come back to Olana again and again. Programs are mostly free and are offered to students pre-school to adult, ranging from landscape painting for beginners to an advanced lecture on landscape architecture in a contemporary world.

Public programming at the education center attracts a diverse skill-set and multi-generational audience who are inspired to interpret Olana in many innovative new ways. In the education center's second year, there have been over 250 programs and over 1,800 participants. A sampling of new programs that have already called the education center home: Olana On the Move Backpacks, Art in the Barn, River School (summer dramatic arts program), From Garden to Table, Senior Visual Arts Workshop, En Plein Air Creative Writing Workshop, Architecture for Kids, Music at the Farm, Making A River, First Friday Afterschool Classes, Herbal Plants in the Landscape, Garden Walk, Teen Oil Painting Workshop and Intensive Landscape Painting Workshop.

The Education Center is located right after the lake with a parking lot adjacent to the barn.

Ongoing Family Programs (April-December)

Olana on the Move Backpacks 
Museum Shop 
Thursdays-Sundays 12-4pm
Families
Borrow a backpack and explore the Olana landscape! Backpacks contain carriage drive maps and self-guided activities to enrich family visits. Two themed backpacks available: 'Exploration Today: Discover Olana' and 'View it Like an Artist'. Take your sketches home, or donate them to our ongoing public exhibit in the Wagon House Education Center. Please be prepared to leave a photo ID until backpack is returned. Free. 

Olana's Week Long Summer Arts Programs

Monday, July 11- Friday, July 15, 2011 from 9am-3pm 
Panorama
Wagon House Education Center/Farm Complex
Ages 7-14
$165/child for non-members and $125/child for members of The Olana Partnership 

A week long adventure exploring art, history, and nature through the prism of artist Frederic Edwin Church. Authors and illustrators will enhance the experience of every participant through hands on activites.  Author Anita Sanchez, has over 30 years of experience as a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation educator and combines history with environmental consciousness in her work.  Alison Ashley Formento, author of This Tree Counts has been published in The New York Times, Parenting Magazine, The Writer and various regional publications.  She received the award for the best children's books of 2011 by the Bank Street College of Education.   Illustrator Robin Brickman is well known for her hands on art and nature science workshops.  As one participant commented:  "Robin Brickman's visit to our school was unforgettable! She has a natural talent not only for illustration, but for engaging students of all ages. Robin's workshop was hands-on. Thanks to her, we can all feel proud as we gaze at our mural and see that she brought out the best in all of us. Robin Brickman's visit made an impression on our school, staff, and students that will last a lifetime!"
K. Alexander, Quarton Elementary School, Birmingham, MI

Registration forms can be found here. To find out more information contact Sarah Hasbrook, Education Coordinator, at (518) 828-1872 x 109 or shasbrook@olana.org.

Monday, August 8- Friday, August 12, 2011 from 9am-2pm 
River School: Olana's Summer Dramatic Arts Program
Wagon House Education Center/Farm Complex
Ages 7-14
$165/child for non-members and $125/child for members of The Olana Partnership 

This is a fully integrated, non-competitive theatrical experience from script development to set construction to full performance in a week. Under director, Margo Mullein, owner of Soup to Nuts Theatre Company, students learn about character development, lighting, direction, and other departments in live theatrical production. Feel comfortable in public speaking and expressing yourself.  One participant remarked, "We were attracted by the wholeness of the River School dramatic arts summer program: the Hudson River landscape, arts education, dramatic arts exposure, and child development skills including confidence; sense of mastery and achievement; and public speaking training. Thank you for creating and offering so smoothly and effectively this valuable program." 

Registration forms can be found here. To find out more information contact Sarah Hasbrook, Education Coordinator, at (518) 828-1872 x 109 or shasbrook@olana.org.

Additional programs and their descriptions can be found on our calendar.
Contact Sarah Hasbrook, Education Coordinator, for more information on any of our programs or to register at: shasbrook@olana.org or (518) 828-1872 x 109. Most of the Wagon House Education Center programs are free; any programs requiring a fee includes a discounted fee for members of The Olana Partnership. Please note that there is a grounds fee of $5 per car to enter the Olana State Historic Site on weekends and Monday holidays April-October. This fee is waived if you are a member of The Olana Partnership. Public programs are made possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would like to know more about how you can support our educational programming or become a member to receive discounts on programming, please visit our Give section.

We look forward to having you join us at a Wagon House Education Center program to learn about, and be inspired by, Olana. 
 
Feedback from participants:

Absolutely great Visual Arts Workshop-fun-educational-had it all! Thanks.

Olana On the Move Backpacks were phenomenal, unique and exceptional.   We had a wonderful day here and we'll come back again and again. It's a really nice thing to do on the weekend with your family.

Art in the Barn was fun, entertaining, thoughtful, healthful and engaging.  My daughter enjoyed all the age appropriate activities. We were invited to participate when we came to Olana for a visit.  We felt very welcome and enjoyed dancing and finger painting. It was wonderful!  We love this beautiful space.  You made us feel comfortable and relaxed.  Thank you.

Wagon House Education Center History

Upon completion of Cosy Cottage – the Church family's first home – in the fall of 2005, The Olana Partnership began planning for the next phase of its comprehensive plan – the restoration of Olana's historic farm complex. Work began in the summer of 2007 on the farm complex, including the re-creation of the wagon house, with a project budget of $1.6 million. The new education center significantly enhances "the Olana experience" for the thousands of children who visit each year — many from underserved populations — through their ability to participate in art classes, lectures and other educational and culturally enriching activities. The education center is a year-round space to encourage place-based education and contemporary interpretation.

Its history continues with you – hope to see you at a program soon!