One of the classes I teach is called Visualizing Science. This is a an elective for any students in the high school that want to explore ideas in the fields of art and science. One student began a long project of creating a hypothetical community after being inspired by the design of a leaf seen through a microscope. We started by looking through a microscope, examined the shape and patterns of leaves, took pictures of them and then ran with an idea. Here the microscopic image was enlarged and projected on a wall so that the shape could be transferred to a large leaf. Then the community began to take shape.
Another student made an exploratory video that he took with his phone through looking through the microscope. The student learned how to use imovie and then made a blair-witch-like project using the inspiration of the view of a leaf through a microscopic lens. Another student needed to work more literally and ended up building a chameleon and hand painting it so that it could live on a tree branch on the wall.
Each of these projects has taught me what the process looks like to help students explore ideas, learn new methods and tools while exploring the line where art and science merges. This is a quarter long class and will change the next semester.
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