STIRRING TULSA’S IMAGINATION Art is truly an incredible thing. It brings people together. It sends us on journeys together. It calms. It excites. It takes us to places outside of our own worlds and minds. But it also does some other truly incredible things, particularly for young children in the prime of their development. According to Americans for the Arts, varying types of art can do wonders for a child’s development: “A growing body of evidence suggests that at virtually every stage of life, the arts can foster openness to novelty, encourage connections to people, places, things, and concepts, and promote the ability to take multiple perspectives, among other positive outcomes. “In a nationally representative study sample, parents who reported singing to their child at least three times per week had a higher likelihood of also 10
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reporting that their child had strong and sophisticated social skills, such as pro-social behaviors, compared with parents who reported singing to their child less than three times per week. “Toddlers participating in a four-toeight month, classroom-based music education program to promote school readiness were more likely to increase their level of teacher-reported social cooperation, interaction, and independence over the school year, compared with a control group who did not receive a music education program.” And those are just a couple of the many studies presented by Americans for the Arts and others showing the impact art can have on the social development of a child. Additional studies also show an impact on their emotional regulation and awareness and their learning capacities and
patterns. Overall, the arts seem to help us control and express our thoughts and emotions in more creative and productive ways. Knowing that the power of the arts can potentially help youngsters grow into more well-rounded and emotionally aware adults is a pretty good argument for presenting art to children at a young age. But what if you could take art and the other STEAM — science, technology engineering, arts and mathematics — disciplines and create fun, educational art for the kids? Well, you can, and we do! We call it the Imagination Series, and it is meant to introduce the performing arts to young audiences to help make learning fun. This year, our series consists of three shows: “Peter Pan,” “School House Rock Live” and “Professor Wow’s FunBelievable Science Show.”
