Field Trip Features: Philadelphia Museum of Art and Franklin Institute

Posted on July 10, 2012 by kwalker01

Last Friday, July 6, Artology travled to the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA).

Once inside the PMA, the Artologists went on an art scavenger hunt throughout the Modern Art (about 18th century to 21st century) galleries.  Ms. L distributed clues that corresponded with works within the galleries.  Using all of their groups’ intellectual and physical might, the Artologists scurried around the museum on a mission to be the first group to find all eight pieces.  Once the scavenger hunt and subsequent picnic lunch were complete, the Artologists had the opportunity to explore areas of the Museum that they were interested in.

   

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On Monday, July 9, Artology traveled to the Franklin Institute to learn more about the theme for this week– Space!

We traveled to the Space Command section of the Institute, saw a movie in the Planetarium about our solar system’s weather, and then were able to explore other parts of the Institute such as the Giant Heart and the steam-engine-powered train.

   

Inside Look: Science Lab

Posted on July 10, 2012 by kwalker01

Welcome to Ms. K’s Lab!

Ms. Alexis Kiesel leads the Science portion of Artology and has been leading Artologists on the hunt of each weeks’ theme: Five Senses, Our Surroundings, and Outer Space.  So far Artologists have reenacted the history of the Earth, created experiments with plants, made miniature mountains, identified different kinds of rock formations, and learned about microscopes and the scientific method.

   

Ms. K’s favorite part about Artology is “Taking the kids out in nature and teaching them about local ecosystems and wildlife.
During the school year, she is a science teacher at local universities and museums.

Inside Look: Art Lab

Posted on July 10, 2012 by kwalker01

Welcome to Ms. Liz Latham’s Lab!

Inside the Art Lab, Ms. L leads Artologists in exploring the themes of the week through various activities that have included painting en plein air, writing haikus, creating a mural with moss, drawing portraits, exploring the five senses and so much more!

   

Ms. L is an art teacher with the Violette de Mazia Foundation which seeks, “to advance, teach, study, promote and otherwise support the aesthetics and appreciation of art based on the theories, methods, and approaches of Albert C. Barnes, John Dewey and Violette de Mazia.”  During the school year, she teaches art appreciation in Philadelphia area public and charter schools.
When asked why she was drawn to Artology, Ms. L replies, “I was drawn to the Artology program because of the BuildaBridge classroom model and my interest in arts integration.”

Field Trip Feature: Philadelphia Magic Gardens

Posted on July 3, 2012 by kwalker01

On Friday, June 29, Artology paid a visit to the Philadelphia Magic Gardens on South St. There, we received a tour of the mosaic Gardens and adjacent apartment building created (and “mosai-icized”) by Philadelphia artist, Isaiah Zagar.  At the end of the tour, Artologists created their own doily tiles inspired by the ones that Mr. Zagar creates for his folk-art and mosaic installations!

  

  

Field Trip Feature: Wissahickon Creek

Posted on July 3, 2012 by kwalker01

Yesterday for our Monday field trip, we explored the Wissahickon Creek in Fairmont Park.  Strolling along the path underneath the canopy of trees, examining rock formations, and digging for garnets and mica, many of the Artologists repeatedly exclaimed, “This is so beautiful!”
For the art portion of the field trip, Ms. Latham used examples created by artists such as Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Cezanne to exemplify how nature can influence different painters and their styles.  The Artologists learned various watercolor techniques to compose their own landscape paintings.
     

For the science portion of the trip, Ms. Kiesel led the groups on a hike along the trail to learn about the natural history of the Wissahickon.  She taught everyone how to identify different varieties of rocks, how the Wissahickon Creek was created by glaciers, and various other facts about the area.  She then ended her lesson by unleashing the Artologists on the Wissahickon itself where they were able to explore a small waterfall and different rock formations.
     

WEEK ONE: Complete!

Posted on June 30, 2012 by kwalker01

Artology has just completed its first week!

This week’s theme has been about our Five Senses and how to employ them in our environments.  Armed with binoculars, magnifying glasses, digital cameras, and their own Eyes/Ears/Noses, the Artologists have explored their labs and our two additional field trip sites this week, Heinz Natural Wildlife Preserve and the Philadelphia Magic Garden.

Here are some features from the Heinz Natural Wildlife Preserve, where we learned about an organism’s natural habitat and biodiversity:

The metaphor for this day was “There is beauty all around us.  Diversity is an important part of this beauty.”  Through observations of the ecosystem and habitat around them, the Artologists began to understand how to relate this metaphor to their own lives and to better understand the importance (and beauty) of diversity among human beings and the communities in which they belong.

Artology has BEGUN!

Posted on June 26, 2012 by kwalker01

Our first day was super fun-and-sun-filled along with some lessons about using our Five Senses in our first science and art labs with Ms. Kiesel and Ms. Latham.
We started out the day with our first drum circle, which was led by our BTG intern, Ms. August. After drumming, listening to our peers, and working on patterns, we split off into our groups: Red, Green, Silver, and Blue.

Artology Drumming 2012 from J. Nathan Corbitt on Vimeo.

For our field trip, we ventured across the street to Historic Cliveden and used our senses (along with binoculars, magnifying glasses, and identification books) to explore local insects and plants with Ms. K. We then whipped out our digital cameras with Ms. L to begin learning about Macro Photography and patterns in nature.  After a lovely outdoor picnic/snack, we journeyed back across the road to Second Baptist to journal and end our FIRST DAY OF ARTOLOGY!

Day Two is looking to be just as awesome– we are focusing today on the Lab components of Artology, which will be taught by our Art Teacher, Ms. L, and Science Teacher, Ms. K.