More than 18,400 Iowa K-12 students learned about art through hands-on presentations featuring original works of art from around the world this past year, thanks to the University of Iowa Museum of Art (UIMA).

UIMA School Programs tallied visits to 739 classrooms in 49 schools and libraries in 10 towns in 10 counties during the 2012-13 academic year. And it was all free to the schools, thanks to funding by UIMA Education Partners.

Three UIMA staff members led the majority of classes. More than 600 school visits were made by Dale Fisher, curator of education, Josh Siefken, assistant curator of education, and Chris Merkle, assistant to the curator of education. Volunteer UIMA docents made another 120 visits.

Towns visited were Ankeny, Blue Grass, Buffalo, Cedar Rapids, Conroy, Coralville, Des Moines, Durant, Eldridge, Iowa City, Kalona, Maquoketa, Marion, Muscatine, North Liberty, Spencer, West Des Moines and Williamsburg.

The K-12 Schools Programs offer three curriculum-based programs:

• K-12 School Programs Collections, which allow students to see works from six different art collections: African Art, American Indian & First Peoples Art, Art of India: Folk Art, Gee’s Bend Quilts and Graphic Novel & Comic Art.

• The WOW (Widen Our World) program, which was developed for third grade students.

• Discover Africa, which is directed toward seventh-grade social studies classes. All Iowa seventh grade students are required to study Africa.

The UIMA also offers significant outreach programs for senior citizens through its Senior Living Communities Program and to UI students through the UIMA@IMU, a visual classroom, and the Black Box Theatre, a temporary exhibition space, both of which are located in the UI’s Iowa Memorial Union.

K-12 School Program visits can be arranged by signing up at this web link: uima.uiowa.edu/book-a-k-12-school-programs-visit/.