45 shapes of sculptures, and the idea of artists as builders. Our hope is to develop awareness of, comfort with and a connection to art and the museum. OVER TIME WE HAVE BUILT MANY MEANINGFUL relationships and traditions with our partner institution, the Smith College Campus School. We work closely with K–6 classroom teachers as well as music and art specialists to connect with the curriculum. This year’s annual fourth- grade study of ancient Rome was enriched by our exhi- bitions; students integrated what they learned into their culminating projects, putting Oplontis on the map, both figuratively and literally on their posters. Third graders studying the water cycle looked at landscape paintings for related representations and evidence. At every grade level, students are touring, taking notice and making academic and personal connections with art. This year we were thrilled to collaborate with Enchanted Circle Theater (ECT) and the Springfield Conservatory of the Arts (SCotA) on “Snapshots of Daily Life in the Age of Nero,” an arts residency program that used the Oplontis exhibition as a jumping-off point for critical and creative thinking. This culminated in powerful individual and ensemble performances that brought this history to life. From February to April 2017, 55 SCotA students from three social studies classes worked inten- sively with our museum educators and a teaching artist from ECT, learning about ancient Rome and power and politics of the time; studying the neoclassical paintings and sculptures in the collection; choosing characters to explore through poems, pantomime and narration; refining their writing and choreographing scenes; and ultimately performing at school and at the museum during Community Day. This immersive learning experience proved to be a wonderful process of self-discovery that fostered inquiry, cooperative learning, performance skills, self-control and confidence. This residency was a transformative experience for not only the middle schoolers, but for our Student Museum Educators, as well. The SME program is, by nature, learning by doing—and working closely with a group of students over time provided a unique opportunity to build education skills as well as perspective while working with under-resourced communities whose access to the arts and museums may be limited. To that end, thanks to the valuable support of SCMA members, we were able to provide transportation throughout the residency and to underwrite ECT’s administrative costs. SCMA hosted the entire SCotA staff for a professional development day, where we talked about best practices for arts education and models for connecting the museum’s resources to English language arts, history, social sciences and other subjects. Museums have the ability to make learning real, and our work with ECT and the students from SCotA was a successful and memorable example of the power of arts integration and partnership.