Workshops
Arts Are Core offers year-round professional learning opportunities in arts integration for K-12 teachers, instructional coaches, arts educators, and USU students. Participants learn key skills, build networks with other educators, and develop techniques and strategies for successful arts integration in all subject areas.
Arts Are Core provides professional learning opportunities in arts education through a generous endowment from the Sorenson Legacy Foundation and a partnership with BTS Arts. Workshops are open to classroom teachers, arts educators, school administrators, university students, and community members. All workshops are available for relicensure points through MIDAS.
Fall 2025
Evenings for Educators Workshop
Exploding Native Inevitable
October 22, 2025 | 4:00-7:00pm
Register Here!
Location: USU Logan Campus, Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art (NEHMA)
Presenter: Tyrell Tapaha
Grades: K-12
Join us at NEHMA for an inspiring evening centered on contemporary Indigenous art through the exhibition Exploding Native Inevitable. Tyrell Tapaha, a Diné (Navajo) weaver and sixth-generation sheepherder, will lead the workshop, sharing his weaving techniques with participants. Tapaha’s art is rooted in reciprocity with the land — from caring for sheep to using plants for dye, and respecting water, soil, and seasons. Teachers will explore how these practices reflect deep ecological knowledge and provide powerful ways to teach sustainability, culture, and creativity. Enjoy hands-on artmaking, lesson ideas, and fresh ways to connect students with Indigenous perspectives and the natural world. Workshop hosted at the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art (NEHMA).
If you do not have a MIDAS account, you can email Elena Free, Efree@springville.org to register for the workshop.
Drumming: Rhythms of Learning
November 19, 2025 | 4:30-6:00pm
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Location: USU Logan Campus, Edith Bowen Laboratory School
Presenter: Jennifer Purdy
Grades: K-6
Learn how drumming can reinforce literacy concepts, support auditory discrimination, improve listening, increase music skills, and meet other core content standards based on current research. In this interactive session, participants will play steady beat, rhythms, and the rhythm of words. Participants will contribute to the creation of simple compositions using body percussion, speech, and drums.
Spring 2026
BARS: Teaching the Writing Process Through Rap
January 21, 2026 | 4:30-6:30pm
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Location: Online Workshop
Presenter: Bomani Armah
Grades: 3-12
Garden-Based Learning and Artmaking:
Petals to Pollinators!
April 14, 2026 | 4:30-6:00pm
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Location: USU Logan Campus, Edith Bowen Laboratory School
Presenter: Aurora Hughes Villa
Grades: K-12
Through the practice of nature journaling, students develop deeper connections with nature by observing and documenting the world around them. In this workshop, participants will first explore nature journaling through observational drawing and writing prompts. Garden-based learning will then be experienced as participants explore two arts-based lessons (3D insects and vegetable mandala prints). Come and explore the cross section of various vegetables and create a series of vibrant mandala prints on black paper. Then, explore 3D materials to create an insect addressing the question, “How do insects adapt for survival?” 10 arts-based lessons relating to garden-based learning will be provided at the workshop (seed pocket accordion books, life cycle star books, plant anatomy cyanotypes, watercolor flowers, and more!). Walk away with teacher-tested lessons that build the skills of a scientist, artist, naturalist, and observer.
* Each participant will receive a copy of “The Laws Sketchbook for Nature Journaling” and bag of art supplies.
* This workshop will also include a visit to the Edith Bowen Lab School Garden.