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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 9, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla.— The Harn Museum of Art is teaming up with museums around the country to promote healthy eating and exercise habits in children by participating in the Let’s Move! Museums and Gardens campaign. Let’s Move is a comprehensive initiative launched by First Lady Michelle Obama dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier. The Harn will offer multiple events throughout the year with the kick-off event being a Family Day held on September 17 from 1 – 4 p.m.

Let’s Move at the Museum! Family Day will invite families with children to move in various ways at more than 10 art stops throughout the museum. Assisted by UF “Dance in a Suitcase” student dancers, activities include stretching into the position of a figurative sculpture, drumming out a sound pattern in the African art gallery or circling around the Asian stupa tower while duplicating the hand positions carved on this monument. Visitors will also create art that moves while moving themselves from table to table, completing steps that lead to a finished mobile. Performances that encourage audience participation will be offered throughout the event by Hemisphere Dance, directed by Sasha Jimenez.

In the Let’s Move! Museums and Gardens initiative, Obama stresses the important role that museums and gardens play in influencing and improving health in the lives of children.

“Museums are ideally situated to help families become aware of unique ways to incorporate more movement in daily activities, thus promoting increased physical activity in a fun way,” said Harn Curator of Community Programs Bonnie Bernau. “This Family Day is a great first step to introduce the Let’s Move! initiative to the Gainesville community.”

Visit the Harn museum website at www.harn.ufl.edu for updates on new activities organized to support the Let’s Move initiative. Let’s Move at the Museum! Family Day is free and open to the public.
                                                     

About the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art
Founded in 1990, the Harn Museum of Art is an integral part of the University of Florida. The Harn contributes to an interconnected, international community by integrating the arts and culture into curricula throughout the university’s system of colleges and centers. Its holdings include more than 8,300 works in five main collecting areas: Asian art, African art, photography, modern art of the Americas and Europe, and international contemporary art. In addition to rotating installations drawn from its permanent collection, the Harn organizes traveling exhibitions, public lectures, panel discussions, academic symposia and educational programs for adults, students and children. On March 31, 2012 the Harn will open the 26,000-square-foot David A. Cofrin Asian Art Wing, which will feature three levels, including new galleries, storage and conservation spaces, as well as outdoor gardens.

The Harn Museum, at Southwest 34th Street and Hull Road in Gainesville, Fla., is part of the University of Florida’s Cultural Plaza, which is also home to the Florida Museum of Natural History and the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Admission is free. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. The museum is open until 9 p.m. the second Thursday of every month for Museum Nights. The Camellia Court Café is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information call 352-392-9826 or visit www.harn.ufl.edu.

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Media contact :
Tami Wroath
Harn Museum of Art
twroath@harn.ufl.edu
(352) 392-9826 x2116