Family Memories

Why do people take photographs?

To prepare for a field trip to Color Rush: 75 Years of Color Photography in America, ask students to interview a family member about his or her favorite photograph. It might be a physical photograph or something digital. They should ask their family member why that photograph is important.

As a group in class, share some of the details from the interviews. Identify a few of the ways we use photographs, such as in scrapbooks, on cards, or to personalize smartphones. Why are photographs important to us?

Ask students to brainstorm other places they might see photographs today, such as in magazines or art galleries.

Explain that the class will see many different kinds of photographs in Color Rush, and that together you will be thinking about the many roles photographs can take in our world.