Education
Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life
As one of the preeminent Jewish collections in the world, the Magnes connects students of all backgrounds with the vibrancy and diversity of Jewish life in the global diaspora and the American West through its holdings of art, objects, texts, and music.
The founding of the museum paralleled the establishment of Jewish studies as an academic field. The Magnes Collection joined UC Berkeley’s College of Letters and Science within the Division of Arts and Humanities. Along with Berkeley’s Center for Jewish Studies and the Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies, the Magnes is part of a robust center of Jewish research, scholarship, and teaching.
Lesson Plan
From Rhodes to San Francisco: Sara Levi’s Wedding Dress, a Storehouse of Knowledge
Preserved in the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, an ornate wedding dress brought to the United States from Rhodes by a young Sara Levi Willis on the eve of World War II shares a powerful story. It reflects the life of a Sephardic woman who survived the major disruptions of twentieth-century Jewish history, showing how cultural treasures can carry on a legacy through the trials of immigration and war.
Subject Areas: English Language Arts, Social Studies, World History, European History, Ethnic Studies, Jewish Studies
Grades: 6–12
Wedding Dress, Rhodes, 19th century. Velvet and metallic thread. Gift of Sara Levi Willis, 86.42. Photo by Sibila Savage.
Featured Resources
Saved by The Bay
The stories of scholars, writers and artists – many of them Jewish, related to Jews, or political dissidents – who escaped the rise of Nazism and fascism in Europe in the 1930s and ‘40s and brought their talents and dreams with them to UC Berkeley.
Magazine Cover Art
Digital reproductions of the front and back cover art from World Over, a bi-weekly children’s periodical focused on the intersections between American and Jewish cultures and published between 1946 and 1973.
Jewish American Heritage Month
May is Jewish American Heritage Month, an opportunity for all Americans to connect with the vibrant and varied American Jewish experience.
Digital Media
The Magnes on Flickr
Discover digital images of the material culture and objects found in the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life.
The Magnes on Youtube
Find video footage, interviews, lectures, and programming that showcase scholarship and stories from the collection.
Collections at the Magnes
Explore the Magnes’s holdings through its museum, archives, and library collections.
Class and Group Visits
The Magnes offers self-guided and staff-led visits for classes and groups.
