CHF Education Programs & Resources
CHF Youth Advisory Council
Council members weigh in with ideas for CHF programs, promote the spring and fall festivals, and gain an understanding of arts and nonprofit administration. The council is open to students who will be in grades 9-12. The commitment is approximately 1 hour per month, September through May, and students can receive school or community service credit for time served on the council.
Chicago Humanities Festival
With more than 100 events every November, the CHF fall Festival is the premiere public humanities programming in the City of Chicago. Celebrating its 21st season this year, the Festival hosts hundreds of scholars, writers, artists, and performers, fall Festival programs provide forums for teachers and students alike to engage in a wide-ranging conversation across the disciplines. Teachers can earn CPDUs for attendance and most programs offer free or much reduced tickets for educators and students.
Classics in Context
The ongoing CIC colloquia bring new life to widely taught literary classics, offering teachers the opportunity to discuss various aspects of a text with renowned humanities scholars from local universities. A CHF curriculum consultant facilitates conversation on integrating or invigorating the text in the classroom. Each colloquium is held at one of our CHF Partner Institutions: DePaul Institute for the Humanities, Northwestern University’s Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities and the University of Chicago’s Franke Institute for the Humanities and the Center for Latin American Studies. Complimentary texts, continental breakfast, and lunch are provided at each program.
Free Ticket Program
A majority of the Stages, Sights, and Sounds and fall Festival programs are free for students, teachers, and class groups. Teachers must be current and active full- or part-time educators with a recognized institution which offers a diploma, degree, or accredited certificate. Students must be actively enrolled in a recognized institution which grants them a diploma, degree, or accredited certificate. For questions on the Free Ticket Program call the Festival Box Office at 312.661.1028 ext. 35.
Summer Institute for Teachers
Each year, the Chicago Humanities Festival presents a symposium that explores the relationship between a component of the humanities and American popular culture. Along with presentations, debate, and discussion, the participants receive teaching resource materials that will aid them in adapting the Institute’s content into their curricula. Teachers who participate in the Institute have the opportunity to earn up to 15 CPDUs.
Stages, Sights, and Sounds
Celebrating its 13th season in 2012, Stages, Sights, and Sounds is the Chicago Humanities Festival’s showcase of acclaimed international and national performing arts for young audiences. With more than 50 performances every spring, kids of all ages can catch original work and new interpretations of classic favorites at venues in Chicago and Evanston.
Download the 2012 Stages, Sights and Sounds School Matinee Performance Schedule [PDF] to plan a trip that will fill your students with wonder and delight.
Graduate Student Roundtables
Graduate students in history and art history are invited to participate in discussions with presenters from the Baskes Lecture in History and the Terra Foundation for American Art. The discussions are moderated by local professors and engage the students in discussions about their place in the field.
Words@Play Poetry Project
Words@PLAY, a collaboration with the Chicago Park District, is a community-based, after-school arts program that introduces the exploration of poetry and play to youth at neighborhood parks in Chicago. The Words@Play program went on hiatus beginning in Fall 2010.
Inclusion and Diversity Day
In 2011, CHF held its first annual Inclusion and Diversity Day, sponsored by McDonald's Global Inclusion & Intercultural Management. This event featured three panelists from broad areas in the humanities speaking about the intersection of their work, topics of diversity and inclusion, and management strategies. A freely available, multimedia-rich lesson plan was created for professionals to engage their organizations in meaningful discussion about these topics. The 2012 Diversity Day is tentatively set for November 5th. Please contact us at 312-661-1028 for more information.
Read about the 2011 Diversity Day Event and view all of the videos from that session.
View the free interactive, multimedia Lesson Plan for Diversity and Inclusion in your organization.
