Description
The NGAkids Art Zone app contains eight interactive activities inspired by works in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, plus a sketchbook for freehand drawing and a personal exhibition space where users can save and display art created with the program. The child-friendly interface, easy-to-use tools, and the overarching emphasis on discovery, careful looking, and artistic self-expression make the NGAkids app educational and fun for the whole family.
Each activity offers various levels of complexity. The app is suitable for all age groups.
It is optimized for ages 9 through 11, but younger children, as well as teens and adults, will find the program enjoyable and artistically motivating.
NGAkids activities are designed for children to use—unassisted—in a recreational, nonacademic context. They are not art lessons, although our programs are extremely popular in schools and are often used as an adjunct to the traditional curriculum. The low-key activities preserve a sense of quiet exploration that encourages artistic expression and creativity. This absorbing, self-directed interaction has a long-term impact. The fact that children are encouraged to figure out how things work and to mentor each other adds a unique dimension to the experience, one that sparks a personal connection to art that often lasts a lifetime.
Slideshow of screenshots made with the app
Special Features
The NGAkids app provides an immersive experience as children visit a virtual art museum and explore a variety of works spanning more than 300 years of art history. High-resolution graphics, careful attention to detail, and exposure to a variety of subjects, painting styles, and techniques help convey an authentic understanding of the artistic process and reinforce their familiarity with the fundamental elements of art. Although not games in the traditional sense, unexpected animation and audio features enliven the programs and help make learning fun.
There are 10 sections to explore: ?
? Portrait
? Landscape
? Seascape
? Still Life
? Action Painting
? Exploring Color
? Color Field
? Collage
? Sketchbook
? My Art Gallery
Works of art by a wide range of artists—including Edward Hicks, Fitz Henry Lane, Berthe Morisot, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Mark Rothko, Josef Albers, and Robert Rauschenberg, along with several anonymous American naive painters—serve as inspirational models.
The National Gallery of Art is committed to producing quality children’s programming that provides informative, entertaining, and age-appropriate content for kids of all ages. We hope you and your children enjoy the NGAkids app, and we invite you to plan an in-person visit to the Gallery, where many of the original works of art that inspired this program are on display.
If you share artistic creations made with our app on social media, please be sure to include the hashtag #ngakids. We look forward to seeing what you make!
The NGAkids Art Zone app was developed by Al Jarnow of Protozone, Inc., in collaboration with the Education Division of the National Gallery of Art and coded for iOS by App Partner, LLC.
NGAkids is supported in part by a generous grant from the Ruth S. Willoughby Foundation.