“Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.”
– Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. in a letter to Ms. Lockwood’s class at Xavier High School
Teaching Vonnegut
The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library is proud to partner with teachers and students of all ages all over the country to honor Kurt Vonnegut’s dedication to arts education.
We know that getting students to engage with reading can be a challenge. But when we introduce them to Vonnegut, something magical happens. Students are laughing; they’re discussing; they’re thinking deeply and grappling with every complex facet of what it means to be human.
That’s why the Vonnegut Museum and Library is helping to bring Vonnegut to classrooms from California to Pennsylvania with our Teaching Vonnegut Workshop. And we’re doing it at no cost to teachers.
Kurt Vonnegut’s sense of humor and willingness to speak out is irresistible to students, after you get them to open the book.
Since 2011, we’ve reached over 500 students in 10 states with our teacher training program Teaching Vonnegut. And this year, we’re taking the show on the road to Baltimore City Schools and Towson University, teaching our whole workshop to teachers on the East Coast and exposing a whole new set of young minds to Vonnegut’s ideals of peace, kindness, common decency, and the joy of creativity.
Want to see what Vonnegut can do for your classroom? Sign up for our July 2016 Indianapolis workshop or April 2016 Baltimore workshop today. Sign up HERE
Teacher and Student Portals
We’ve just launched two all-new portals to connect students and educators everywhere with Vonnegut resources, activities, and inspiration. Find a new book to read, plan a Vonnegut activity for your classroom, learn about the man behind the writing and more, all on our website!
Workshops and Guest Speakers
We know that learners can be found far beyond the classroom. That’s why, in addition to our teacher workshops, we offer guest speakers and writing workshops for anyone who wants to make their soul grow. From our Banned Books Week speaker series (12 speakers in 6 days!) to our regular rotation of touring authors, the Vonnegut Museum and Library is committed to connecting community members with folks who have some great ideas.
Last Fall, we teamed up with the Indiana Writers Center to host a series of writing workshops for women veterans. The participants (ranging from a nonagenarian WWII veteran to our President/CEO who is an ex-Marine) spent six months creating and collaborating.
Educational Tours for Learners of All Ages
Education is happening every day at the Vonnegut Museum and Library, from the time we raise the museum window shades in the morning to when we turn off Kurt’s typewriter at night. Our award-winning, dedicated tour guides are on hand to share Kurt Vonnegut’s story with the over 200,000 guests that have visited our museum space– and the number is growing every day!
We’ve recently collaborated with local firm Genius Fish to expand our tour programming to reach a K-12 audience, so there is truly something for everyone.
Want to bring your class, scout troop, club, or organization in for free, tailored, guided tour? Just email [email protected], and we’ll make it happen!
The Kurt Vonnegut and Jane Cox Vonnegut Writing Awards
Thanks to the Vonnegut family’s generosity, we offer two scholarships each year to promising young writers from Kurt’s alma mater, Shortridge High School. We couldn’t be more proud to help support the next generation of great artists!
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The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library is a 501(c)(3) private nonprofit organization
The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library is proud to partner with the following American Writer's Museum.