Brittany Taylor is a student in Art Education at the University of North Texas who works at xREZ Art + Science Lab assisting with research in virtual reality and helping develop museum and educational materials for various xREZ projects. Throughout the course of 2016 Taylor has also been involved with a number of initiatives with Dallas’ Crow Collection of Asian Art.

During the summer of 2016 Taylor worked at Salazar Elementary school in Oak Cliff as a specialist using social emotional learning methods to help Dallas ISD students learn art and advance to their full potential. Brittany’s work at Salazar Elementary was supported by the Crow Collection and is part of a city-wide initiative to keep Dallas students learning during the summer months called Dallas City of Learning. City of Learning is a joint effort between Dallas ISD, the City of Dallas, and Big Thought, an organization that brings together organizations and donors who are interested in addressing opportunity gaps for kids in Dallas.

Now, Taylor is working as part of the UNT College of Visual Art and Design’s Onstead Institute/Crow Collection Fellowship in Museum Education to incorporate more technology into the museum tours and activities. Taylor is familiar with technology and interested in site-specific virtual games in museums, and her skillset not only fit the position but made interesting connections between science, art, and education.

Since Aug. 2016 Taylor has worked in the Education Department at the Crow Collection where she is actively participating in the learning experiences of students and families who visit the museum. Taylor is working to open the doors of art education to children of all ages through her involvement in developing curriculum for a toddler program and contributing to the Crow’s gallery guide, “Gab Bag.”

More than just exposing kids to the arts, Taylor is building on the fusion of technology, science and art in piloting a 3D printing program in collaboration with the Onstead Institute and the UNT Fab Lab. By integrating education of the arts with interests in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), Taylor can create museum experiences that highlight the value of normalizing blended technology and art.

She is also developing a pilot program at the Crow Collection  to create a virtual reality museum program that allows rural schools to visit the museum virtually. If approved, Taylor intends to conduct the pilot program and write up her museum research for conference submission. The project involves making a 360* video tour of the collection accompanied by a gallery educator who can walk students through a 3D museum experience.

“Students would have the option to view the tour through a google cardboard or other HMD,” says Taylor. “We want to study the impact this could have on school/museum partnerships, the ability for the museum to visit schools who cannot afford to come to the museum due to money or time restraints, peer to peer learning and the strengthening of their evidence based reasoning skills through Artful Thinking, the primary routine used in tours for looking at art.”

About Brittany

Area of Study: Art Education + 2016 Recipient of Museum Education Certification

Dream Job: Brittany wants to create virtual programming for one or more museums that goes into rural or underprivileged schools, senior living centers and other community centers.

Hobbies: Horseback riding, sketching, crafting, and gardening.

Fun Facts: Brittany is the proud mother of three boys, Riley (9),  Kaysen (7) and Khaiden (2).  When she was little, Brittany wanted to be Indiana Jones, and that is what got her interested in archaeology and art history.