STEAMed Magazine January 2017 | Page 53

This past summer , ilus Art partnered with the South Florida Science Center & Aquarium ( SFSCA ) and the Center for Creative Education ( CCE ) to bring our program to students in West Palm Beach , Florida . The after school science program was funded by Prime Time Palm Beach County and included 160 students from 4 schools . In August , we shared our program with the science and art educators at SFSCA and CCE , teaching them about what is going on in regenerative medicine research and showing them how to use cellular artwork to inspire students to create their own masterpieces while engaging them in STEAM .
I appreciate what the amazing instructors at the SFSCA and the CCE did with these 3rd , 4th and 5th grade students . They created hands-on experiential applications of the subject matter , whether it was working with models of the cells , or a simple project of using a piece of scotch tape and putting it on the student ’ s skin , removing it and looking at their own skin cells under the microscope . The art instructors used multiple techniques to help the kids create beautiful art pieces that mimicked ilus ’ cellular images . The projects included painting on silk , quilting and gel pen drawings on foil .
More than 200 pieces of the student ’ s artwork created during the pilot program were recently on display as part of ilus Arts ’ “ Art of Science ” exhibit at the 12th Annual World Stem Cell Summit Public Education Day on December 6th in West Palm Beach , Florida . Many students who had artwork on display proudly visited the exhibit with their families . During the event , we also conducted a plenary talk on our K-12 lecture program .
I personally love getting students excited about lifelong learning in STEAM through art and it was equally energizing to inspire educators through the pilot program in south Florida . I really believe that in some students , its just one thing , one lecture , that can ignite the fire of curiosity and discovery , which sets them on a path to become the next great scientist , doctor , teacher , engineer or artist .
Janet Hubka is the CEO of Ilus Art , which advocates for Art being officially integrated into schools ’ STEM programs to enlighten students about Science , Technology , Engineering and Math with Art as a means to further engage students in the STEM fields . You can contact Janet at janet @ ilusart . com
STEAMed Magazine
53
January 2017 Edition