Local Applebee’s Franchisee Renews Commitment to the James A. Michener Art Museum School Visit Program

Thousands of Local Students Continue to Experience the Arts First-hand Through The Rose Group and Michener Art Museum Partnership in 2014

The James A. Michener Art Museum is proud to partner with The Rose Group, a local franchisee of Applebee's Grill & Bar and Corner Bakery Cafe, for the seventh consecutive year to provide art enrichment to local students through the School Visit Program. The initiative offers free admission to all school groups visiting the museum. To date, this program has served over 30,500 students who benefited from educational opportunities at the Michener Art Museum.

While visiting the Michener Art Museum, students from preschool through grade 12 experience the visual arts and culture through age-appropriate educational activities. In 2014, students can look forward to exhibitions such as Where Children Sleep: Photographs by Jim Mollison (March 15-June 29, 2014), Steve Tobin: Steel Works (June 28-October 12, 2014), Steve Tobin: Glass Works (July 12-October 26, 2014) and Starstruck: The Fine Art of Astrophotography (November 1, 2014-February 8, 2015). The Michener Art Museum’s Education department staff prepares interdisciplinary lesson plans and interactive activities that are integral to multiple school curriculums and support state, national and Common Core Standards in education.

“We are privileged to be able to give the gift of the arts to so many students across the Delaware Valley,” said Jeff Warden, CEO of The Rose Group. “The School Visit Program with the Michener Art Museum is a partnership that we treasure.”

 “This support is an important investment in our youth and we are grateful to Mr. Warden and The Rose Group, for continuing this partnership with a significant gift,” said Lisa Tremper Hanover, Director and CEO of the Michener. “I watch the school classes enter the museum galleries with eager questions and a sense of wonder. Our Michener docents and adjunct staff do a superb job of leading these enthusiastic students on an art-filled adventure and quite often they return with their families to share what they have learned. These are invaluable lessons.”

As part of this partnership, the Michener Art Museum has been able to attract a more diverse school audience from Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Lehigh, Delaware and Chester counties, as well as from New Jersey.

 “We're thrilled that The Rose Group is continuing this incredible support for the seventh year in row," says Adrienne Romano, the museum’s Director of Education, New Media and Interpretive Initiatives. “The Rose Group has enabled thousands of students and chaperones to experience the museum as an extension to their classroom learning despite limited school budgets, reductions in field trips and arts funding, and continued challenges with covering bus costs.”

To make a reservation for a school tour at the Michener Art Museum, teachers should contact Melissa Sandquist at (215) 340-9800 x124 or msandquist@michenerartmuseum.org. Tours are offered beginning at 10:00 a.m. Only pre-booked docent-led or self-guided groups are included in the free admission program. Chaperones in the allotted 1 to 6 ratio are free; a reduced admission fee per adult applies for any additional chaperones. Teachers are encouraged to contact the museum at least three weeks in advance. Reservations are accepted on a first-come, first served basis. More information about specific school tours and teacher programs is available online at www.michenerartmuseum.org/education/schools/.