The Art Ark is a 625-square foot mobile art-education center that serves 25–30 schools throughout the greater Sacramento region each year. The Art Ark offers cost-effective art education resources to regional schools and provides art education and the museum experience to Pre-K – 8th grade schoolchildren. 

The Art Ark is a popular regional resource and space books quickly.  

• Serves up to 175 students per day  

• Pricing starts at $4,100 for a five-day installation 

• Six-week advance registration required 

• Limited number of scholarships available for Title 1 schools 

• Download site technical requirements 

Email Brittany Thurman, School and Teacher Coordinator, at bthurman@crocker.org to schedule. 

The current installation on the Art Ark is American Narratives, which focuses on storytelling through profiles and artwork of American artists, including many from the Sacramento region. Selected artworks feature multicultural artists and content that has relevant ties to students’ lives and experience. American Narratives activities encourage students to engage with artist stories and to create their own—acting, sharing, and creating elements of original and illustrated narratives.  

Art Ark brings a museum experience to communities throughout the Greater Sacramento region and provides resources for continued arts engagement in schools.  

On the Art Ark, students have access to original artwork, instruction by professional art educators, and hands-on learning experiences based on the California State Common Core Standards. The Art Ark uses reproductions of artworks from the Museum’s permanent collection as the basis for guiding students through artmaking, discussion, and other activities.  

Aboard the Art Ark, students join a short introductory lesson from Art Ark educators, who highlight how art connects to their own lives and the world around them. Students roam through multiple art stations and activities individually and in groups. They can congregate to read in the Quiet Corner or drop by other stations to create their own artworks. By connecting the hands-on activities with Museum exhibitions currently on view, the students develop greater visual literacy skills and gain a greater appreciation of the artwork they see when they visit the Crocker.    

Take-away lesson plans and resources provide teachers with the skills needed to incorporate art into their ongoing lesson plans, and optional evening open-house events offer parents and caregivers the opportunity to learn about artwork from their students. Each student who visits the Art Ark is offered a Free Family Pass to return to the Museum with their loved ones.