Embedded Files
My School, My Museum
My School, My Museum
4th Grade | OCTOBER 2021 | Math + Science + Visual Arts
4th Grade | OCTOBER 2021 | Math + Science + Visual Arts
Teachers, staff, and museum educators collaborated to create a lesson that incorporated multiplication and scientific study of plants and animals using objects from the Crystal Bridges Museum collection. The results are the experience and lesson shared below.
The My School, My Museum (MSMM) program is back on the campus of Crystal Bridges Museum after two years of virtual based instruction due to COVID. The MSMM is an expansion of the existing partnership between AAA and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
The program is in its fourth year with our fourth grade teachers! Through arts integration, MSMM offers students the opportunity to make meaningful connections between the core disciplines and an art form. During the school year Mr. Jones, Director of Arts Integration and Museum Partnerships, meets with the fourth grade team and Museum Educators to develop on-site, arts integration lessons that align subject-area standards with fine arts standards using works of art in the Museum's collection as the point of connection. The results are immersive experiences that take place at the Museum where the students and teachers use the galleries as an extension of their classroom.
SESSION 1: MATH + SCIENCE + SCULPTURE
SESSION 1: MATH + SCIENCE + SCULPTURE
October served as the month for this year's first session. Each month the program takes two core classes to the Museum for an immersive educational experience; the first pair of core classes for this year were fourth grade math and science classes .
October served as the month for this year's first session. Each month the program takes two core classes to the Museum for an immersive educational experience; the first pair of core classes for this year were fourth grade math and science classes .
Students in Mrs. Gibbon’s math classes are mastering multiplication using multi digit numbers, while in Mrs. Benton’s science classes students are learning about plant and animal structures that function to support survival, growth and behavior. Our two wonderful Museum Educators, Ms. Jennifer Hatfield and Ms. Joann Murcho, introduced two works of art to the students, each with connections to both the math and science standards.
Students in Mrs. Gibbon’s math classes are mastering multiplication using multi digit numbers, while in Mrs. Benton’s science classes students are learning about plant and animal structures that function to support survival, growth and behavior. Our two wonderful Museum Educators, Ms. Jennifer Hatfield and Ms. Joann Murcho, introduced two works of art to the students, each with connections to both the math and science standards.
WORKS FROM THE COLLECTION
WORKS FROM THE COLLECTION
Rashid Johnson's The Bruising: For Jules, The Bird, Jack and Leni
2021
Powder coated steel, plants, shea butter, ceramic pots
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Tony Tasset's Deer
2015
Fiberglass, epoxy & paint
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Rashid Johnson’s The Bruising: For Jules, The Bird, Jack and Leni was the work selected for an investigation into mathematical formulas incorporated into the composition. Upon approaching the sculpture, students immediately identified the blue scaffolding of the artwork as a multiplication problem. The Museum educators informed the students that the dimensions of the work were 20’ x 20’ x 20’, and that the artist has used scaffolding, like a jungle gym, to create cubed sections that are equally spaced to house various objects within. The students quickly observed that the structure was tiered, therefore multiplying 20 x 20 x 20 would not provide an accurate solotuion in determining how many cubical units there are in the structure. Students identified that the base of one side of the structure was 10 cubes in width and 3 cubes high. Using multiplication they determined the side of the base has 30 sections by creating the problem 10 x 3. The multiplication fun
Rashid Johnson’s The Bruising: For Jules, The Bird, Jack and Leni was the work selected for an investigation into mathematical formulas incorporated into the composition. Upon approaching the sculpture, students immediately identified the blue scaffolding of the artwork as a multiplication problem. The Museum educators informed the students that the dimensions of the work were 20’ x 20’ x 20’, and that the artist has used scaffolding, like a jungle gym, to create cubed sections that are equally spaced to house various objects within. The students quickly observed that the structure was tiered, therefore multiplying 20 x 20 x 20 would not provide an accurate solotuion in determining how many cubical units there are in the structure. Students identified that the base of one side of the structure was 10 cubes in width and 3 cubes high. Using multiplication they determined the side of the base has 30 sections by creating the problem 10 x 3. The multiplication fun
continued when students then multiplied the 10 rows x 30 units to get 300 which is the number of total cubical units in the base. This was repeated with each tier to determined the total number of cubical scaffold units in the work of art.
continued when students then multiplied the 10 rows x 30 units to get 300 which is the number of total cubical units in the base. This was repeated with each tier to determined the total number of cubical scaffold units in the work of art.
For the science component the students learned about the objects the artist "planted" within the structure. Plants, both native species and non-native species, occupy specific areas within the composition. Students learned about various species of plants, their characteristics, structure and native habitat. Some species were easily identified by students, such as Elephant ears, while others like the tropical Monstera was a new species for the students to learn about. Below are some of the different plants that Rashid Johnson has incorporated into his work. (Photos by Ironside Photography / Stephen Ironside)
For the science component the students learned about the objects the artist "planted" within the structure. Plants, both native species and non-native species, occupy specific areas within the composition. Students learned about various species of plants, their characteristics, structure and native habitat. Some species were easily identified by students, such as Elephant ears, while others like the tropical Monstera was a new species for the students to learn about. Below are some of the different plants that Rashid Johnson has incorporated into his work. (Photos by Ironside Photography / Stephen Ironside)
Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)
Arkansas Yucca (Yucca arkansana)
Monstera (Monstera deliciosa)
Elephant Ears (Alocasia)
Tony Tasset's enormous sculpture entitled Deer was the second work of art that the students experienced. This monumuntal composition stands 12 feet at the height of the deer's back. Using their multiplication students quickly calculated that the large scale sculpture is only 3 x the size of an average adult white-tailed doe which is an average of 4 feet tall at the shoulder.
For the science component students were able to see the amplified physical features of a deer that enable it to survive within its habitat. Elongated ears that independently move to hear any noises in front of or behind the animal. A thick coat of fur to protect it from harsh weather conditions, but also serves as camoflauge allowing the deer to blend in with it's surroundings. Extended, lean legs and small split hooves allowing the deer to run swiftly and silently through the forest to evade predators.
Report abuse