Museums are the institutions where the artifacts which are transferred from past to future are collected, preserved, protected and exhibited; they also give opportunity to learn about these artifacts from functional and artistic views, in addition, to assess them from a social point of view. The museums which construct a culture bridge from past to future with the artifacts in their collections transfer the society’s cultural histories, wealth, and values to future generation and protects them. Similarly, art education contributes to individual’s creative activities by using museums, which are cultural entities, in learning environments. Karatepe is a city which belongs to Hittite civilization and it dates back to around 2700 years. It has an important place in history as it helped to enlighten the mystery of Hittite hieroglyphs which had lasted for 135 years. Karatepe Open-Air Museum which also holds the feature of being the first open-air museum in Turkey became an area of responsibility for art education today with its construct including artifacts which shed light into those periods.In this study, the students are requested to work through Karatepe Open-Air Museum via banner which is one of the graphic design communication tools. How the deep-rooted Hittite civilization affects the students’ creativity which is shaped by current images; how the students of art education department express Karatepe Open-Air Museum in their graphic design as an area of responsibility are investigated by the means of banner design practices and related question texts directed to students. Thus, a set of results (informal learning, cultural sensitivity, social responsibility, etc.) were obtained about using museums in graphic design education. The present study, at the same time, has been prepared to offer a new option to methods practiced in graphic design education. In the study, the priority is mostly given to processes that should be experienced such as vision, comprehension, enlightenment, sensation, and internalization. The obtained results have shown that the students who study at art education department experienced learning related to culture and the values in that culture via the museums as a learning field. In addition, they could express that information in their banner designs by the means of this research.

Keywords: Art Education, Museum, Cultural Heritage, Design.