Art Mural for Nancy Kasakow

Imagine if one of your elementary school teachers got sick and passed away during the school year. Now at a young age, you and your peers will learn about grief for what is most likely the first time in your life. 

That tragedy struck UWyo's Lab School during the 1993-94, and looking at this site it is important for visitors to really understand how impactful Nancy Kasakow was as an educator. Due to the lab school closing, the mural has shifted out of the public's view. Where students used to pass every day, now it sits and collects dust waiting to be introduced to a new audience. 

Emotion that can be felt in the art bricks created by the students, demonstrating the lasting passion and pain they experienced. Students ranged from 5-11 grieved, asking "What does death even mean?" Giving the students an opportunity to express their confusion and anger through this clay art piece that memorialized Kasakow's impact. Thirty years later, the people of this community still remember her, even as this site of memory risks being erased. 

Contributed by Payton Hans