Interactive arts activities are one of the four main pillars of the arts featured each year at the Des Moines Arts Festival. Throughout the Festival, guests of all ages have the opportunity to get creative and hands-on with art, music, dance and more! These activities can be found throughout the Festival at sponsor booths, the Bank of America Creative Kid’s Zone and even electronically though texts.
This year, in honor of the opening of the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park, the Des Moines Art Center will feature several projects celebrating the park and inspired by a few of the sculptures.
Pappajohn Sculpture Park Central At Pappajohn Sculpture Park Central you can create easy and fun projects that provide mementos of your visit to the new park and the 2010 Des Moines Arts Festival. Make your own version of the MOONRISE using Model Magic©, practice stacking letters and numbers to create an abstract sculpture, and create a sketchbook to take into the park and draw your favorite artworks. Pappajohn Sculpture Park Central is produced by the Des Moines Art Center.
Guided Tours Sign-up for a guided tour of the all new 4.4 acre Sculpture Park! The Des Moines Art Center will offer guided tours of the spectacular new addition to our capital city. Sign up for the tour at the Art Center Information Booth located at the corner of Grand Ave. and 13th St. Tours are limited to 20 people, so sign-up early. Tours will start from the Art Center Information Booth and last approximately 45 minutes.
Tour Schedule - Friday, June 25: 5 pm, 5:30 pm, 6 pm, 6:30 pm, 7 pm, 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 26: 11 am, 11:30 am, 12 pm, 12:30 pm, 1 pm, 1:30 pm, 2 pm, 2:30 pm, 3 pm, 3:30 pm, 4 pm, 4:30 pm
Sunday, June 27: 11:30 am, 12 pm, 12:30 pm, 1 pm, 1:30 pm, 2 pm
Passport Prairie Meadows will be providing spin art and a Prairie Meadows Community Outreach Program Passport. Children will have a great time spinning their own art creation and receiving a passport. The Prairie Meadows Community Outreach Program Passport includes a coloring page and 22 logos for the participating non-profit organizations. Pick up a passport then travel around the Creative Kid’s Zone and collect stamps from each non-profit.
Origami Hat Get the edge on origami by creating a Principal Financial Group® origami hat. Fold and decorate to wear around the Festival!
Face Painting Get your face painted by an amazing artist at the Bank of the West tent on Grand Ave.
Balloons Stop by the WHO-TV 13 booth on the Meredith Corporation lawn to meet on-air personalities and get a balloon.
The Art of Storytelling The Art of Storytelling: Learn how sound and voices combine to tell a story, and try your hand at “mixing” your own story. Color of Music: Children can listen to music and draw the music on paper. Album Artwork: Match album artwork to the artists
Get Your HUNT On! U.S. Cellular will challenge your texting and sleuthing skills with a Festival-wide scavenger hunt. Text the right answer, get another clue. Get all the answers right and you will walk away with a souvenir photo, $25 worth of U.S. Cellular Bucks and a chance to win a Grand Prize!
3D Paper Animal. Create a 3D paper animal with Animal Rescue League of Iowa.
Wallaby. Welcome the Blank Park Zoo’s newest theme by making a Wallaby.
Necklaces. Join Childvoice International to make your own necklace by rolling beads from
construction paper.
Musical Instrument Design. The Civic Music Association invites you to decorate and assemble a
take-home musical instrument (drum, chimes or other percussion instrument).
Animals of Des Moines. Create various animals through natural objects found in our local
Des Moines habitat with Des Moines Parks and Recreation.
Instrument Petting Zoo. This activity with the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra and Academy will
provide a hands-on experience with a Violin, Viola or Cello. Experts will be present to assist with
technique and aesthetics.
Paint your Masterpiece. Join the DownTown Church in using Marbles, paint, and some “Rock
and Roll” are used to create an intricate picture worthy of any refrigerator gallery.
Button Design. The Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau and Iowa Department of Public Safety are
coming together to give you a chance to customize your own button.
Garden in a Cup. Plant a seed in a decorated cup with Greater East Side Development and
watch it grow!
Memory Books. Create memory books with Hospice of Central Iowa and decorate it
with favorite memories.
Clean Water Mural. Join Iowa’s Water and Land Legacy for a “Clean Water Mural,” which will
incorporate kids and free association drawings they connect with “clean water”, “drinking
water”, and “nature”. Finished project will be displayed on their website.
Paper Flowers. Latino Resources Inc. invites you to create paper flowers with them.
Building Your Own Art. Join Lions Clubs of District 9MC in creating children’s choice of
constructing hand fans, decorating paper eyeglasses, or designing refrigerator magnets.
Farm Animal Art. Make a farm animal button with Living History Farms.
Paper Fan. Join Make-A-Wish Foundation of Iowa in constructing a paper fan for decoration.
Get Well Soon Cards. Join March of Dimes in creating homemade Get Well Soon cards to give
to babies and families who are currently in the NICU at Blank Children’s Hospital or Mercy
Medical Center.
Sun Catcher Design. Join Mentor Iowa in creating sun catchers in the shape of flip flops.
Tissue Butterflies. Create tissue butterflies with Metro Arts Alliance.
Pinwheel Creations. Create abstract pinwheels with Prevent Child Abuse Iowa
Art and Science! Join the Science Center of Iowa to create an interactive project of hidden
message paper and flip-stick optical illusions.
Get Your Dance On! Experience America’s folk dance by participating in dance lessons, or
participating in designing fashion accessories from the 1920’s with Swing Des Moines.
Pipe Cleaner Creations. Join Xochipilli Children’s Center to make butterflies, sun visors, and
sculptures out of pipe cleaner.
Tiny Circus
Tiny Circus is a collaborative project whose members engage communities to develop a show entitled: "The Other Histories of the World," a series of short, stop-motion animated films. The films are projected in public spaces from a vintage airstream trailer, a rolling magic lantern. The animations present fanciful imagined histories of a variety of subjects, like rain, smiles, or constellations.
Tiny Circus was piloted as a creative collaboration in the summer of 2008 in Grinnell, Iowa. The experiment was largely successful: by exploring various subjects through stop-motion animation, the Circus developed a creative storytelling structure that serves a range of voices.
Artistically, the Tiny Circus animations are simple and accessible, as they have been created with a broad audience in mind. We hope to inspire audiences to reconsider the ways that we use assumptions, beliefs and storytelling to order our world.
