TINY ARTISTS. UW-Stout students are teaching kiddos how to make some cool art and have fun doing it! (Submitted photos)

UW-Stout’s Children’s Art Club is back with in-person sessions after being held virtually for the past few years as kids create fun projects revolving around this semester's theme: exploring nature through art.

The club runs every Tuesday evening from 6 to 7pm and is open to kids in kindergarten through grade eight. No registration is needed and all supplies are provided. 

This year’s co-coordinators, Bailey Iwen and Amelia Johnson, said they have been having great success with the sessions so far this semester. They’re enthusiastic about getting new faces to join the club and love working with the kids. 

This free club is coordinated and taught by UW-Stout’s art education students in the AIM (Arts Integration Menomonie) program, giving these future artists and teachers firsthand experience for their futures.

“We have new students join us weekly which is so fun to see new faces and have the opportunity to work with a variety of different students of different ages,” Johnson said.

The club was held virtually for the past three years due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the shift back to in-person meetings has been exciting for the club coordinators, preservice students, and the kids. 

“It is an exciting year as we are now back in person,” Johnson said. “We are able to work with the children in a new way that allows us to interact and create a more human experience showing the students that we don’t just exist online, but in person.”

“The club is more than valuable. It’s an educational opportunity for the mind, brain, and soul,” Iwen said. “Getting to see the kids participate and learn is by far my favorite part of running this club.” 

The art club will meet through Dec. 13, and their projects will continue to revolve around the theme of exploring nature through art.  

For more information, visit the Children’s Art Club website.