SCIENTIFIC ART
Grade: high school
Age: 13+
Submitted by Judy Braddy, an art educator at Azle High School in Azle Texas.
Objectives:
The 5 senses
What You Need:
- magazines
- scissors
- glue
- pencil
- paper
- markers
What You Do:
The first week of Scientific Art was a success by starting with How Art and Science are alike.
The use of quotes from Albert Einstein and quotes about how the Artist and Scientists while trying to understand problems and problem solving are quite alike.
A. From this short lecture a montage was introduced to the students. The montage shows cut pictures that describe the feeling of the 5 senses. For example, show me color, show me what smells, show me what you hear, show me what you taste and show me what you touch. Instead of show me what you see with, hear with, smell with, taste with and feel with. This causes students to think about the actual senses.
B. From this activity we move on into the individual senses. Hearing is first. I received several lesson plans from both the music teacher on how to make instruments and several lesson plans from the science teacher on how people hear and the parts of the ear. The student do 3 experiments on hearing and how sound waves move through the air and water. When they understand the scientific aspects of sound, then I introduce no sound. Yes, no sound. I have a guest lecturer that is deaf and teaches teach the students that they also can communicate through sign language. The student will be required to know the ASL sign alphabet and then a few phrases, just as if they are taking a foreign language.
C. The fun comes with the study of sounds and writing them down on paper. In English class, they call this Onomatopoeia, the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it as in buzz, hiss, boom, pop. Does this remind you and your students of the cartoon characters Batman and Robin? Which leads to the last lesson.
D. The students are to draw a 1/4 inch grid on their favorite action character cartoon that has written sounds.They might xerox off the picture not to alter the actual cartoon. They then enlarge the grid on a sheet of paper by 2 inches. If they draw square by square you can enlarge the picture. Add black lines and magic markers and you have a large cartoon.
A note. This class called Scientific Art, is taken by non-artists and each assignment is to help students appreciate the art around them. Always offer students positive reinforcement.
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Author Bio:
Judy Braddy is an artist and actress in her own right. She has a masters of Communication Degree from Wichita State University at Wichita, Kansas. She has taught for 23 years all levels of art and theatre. Her workshops and camps for the teachers and children of Azle and the surrounding small towns are well attended with rave reviews. J.B. has exhibited her art work in Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New York , Texas and London England. Her specialty is scenery, still life and portraits. Her newest venue is exotic animals. In drama her company called The Story Patch Players, a participatory theatre troupe for the very young, are the most asked for theatre troupe of the Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Centers', Imagination Celebration of Ft. Worth public schools. The players produce classic tales for children with good morals and happy endings. J.B. says "We never want to scare the children or leave them thinking bad thoughts. We always try to teach and we are received very well by the teachers and the children."
KinderArt® Lesson/Activity