Science And Math Activities
- Apply a scientific concept to a problem in art. Have students explore a scientific subject (such as light). Place paintings together that seem particularly suited to this subject and ask children to discuss how artists represent the science of light — its directions, its color at different times of the day, its interaction with water and color, etc. Students can select some aspect of light that interests them scientifically and, like artists, think of ways to represent this visually through painting, collage, or sketches.
- Analyze the nature of matter using the arts and physics as sources. Both science and art deal with illusion — what seems to be but is not. Using visual art (e.g., surrealists), modern dance performance, and other sources, students write down the assumptions artists (particularly experimental artists) are making about the nature of matter. (Is it always in motion? Is it static? Is it solid and impenetrable, as it appears?) Investigate one or more of these assumptions in physics and write an essay justifying or questioning artistic representations.
- Sharpen visual perception and increase ability to estimate accurately. Artists often test their perceptions by estimating distances and heights. Students can test their perceptions by putting a stick into the ground (so that six inches show) on a sunny day and measuring the length of the shadow cast by the six-inch stick. Next, they measure the length of the shadow of a nearby tree. How would the students calculate the height of the tree in inches? In feet? Let them devise their own system for figuring this out. They can diagram, use paintings, use photographs, etc.
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