Ann Marie Fiore, associate professor of textiles and clothing, has been awarded the university museums’ first annual teaching award for innovative use of museums in her class on aesthetics and the family.

Students in Textiles and Clothing 342 visit the Brunnier Art Museum, the Farm House Museum and they also tour the “Art on Campus” collection. The students gain perspectives on aesthetics and design in their everyday surroundings, Fiore said.

“Students are exposed to the basic elements of the principles of design,” Fiore said. “They learn how the environment influences aesthetic experience.”

Fiore said she has used the museums since she came to Iowa State in 1989.

“I have an experiential approach to teaching,” she said. “I try to make the students understand aesthetics not only cognitively but also emotionally.”

Textiles and clothing professor Jane Farrell-Beck nominated Fiore for the award.

“What Ann Marie Fiore teaches will help students earn their daily bread and also to live more satisfying lives, on and off the job,” Farrell-Beck said. “They will become more enthusiastic and discerning visitors and supporters of the arts in their respective communities.”

Bronwen Benbow, a senior in biology, was in Textiles and Clothing 342 last spring. Benbow said she loved the class.

“When we went to the museum, I really got a feeling of how important the stuff she was talking about was, like the lighting,” Benbow said.

Fiore said she hopes others will realize university museums can be a resource.

“I’ve always felt the museums have been indispensable to me as a teacher,” she said.

“I’m very pleased to win the award. The best thing about it is it really is a symbol of collaboration at Iowa State.”