K-12 Education Programs
K-12 ART-SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAMS
In 2005, UCD plant pathology professor, Pam Ronald, received funding from the National Science Foundation to establish an innovative new education program for 4th, 5th and 6th graders combining science and art instruction. The first "Art-Science" project under her leadership took place at Cesar Chavez Elementary School in Davis, CA in March 2005. Local artist and teacher Ruth Santer, a co-founder of the project, worked together with Cesar Chavez science teacher Sarah Fonte to design science and art curricula appropriate to each grade level. UC Davis graduate student, Becky Bart, was recruited to talk and give demonstrations on plant biology and genetics to 4th, 5th and 6th graders, using rice plants as models. After Becky's presentations, the children were then assisted by Ruth, Becky and Sarah in an art studio in which they learned to closely examine the plants and to use various art materials to interpret what they saw. These beautiful drawings and paintings are the result.
PICNIC DAY 2005: Cesar Chavez elementary school students, teachers, principal and program coordinators in front of class drawings and paintings of rice plants.
This first project proved to be very popular with the children and, according to Senora Fonte, highly successful in inspiring their enthusiasm for both science and art.
In addition to introducing young people to both science and art in a fun way, UCD graduate students learn valuable skills normally not emphasized in their training. For example, graduate students are learning to relay relatively complex scientific information from their own research experiences into terms that are comprehensible, exciting and fun for 4th, 5th and 6th graders. These partnerships between older and younger students are enhanced through subsequent reunions, school visits to the campus and the annual UC Davis Picnic day exhibition when the children, their teachers and mentors can present the works to parents, UCD educators and administrators and the general public.
2007: GATEways / Robbins Hall Art Project
Children's ceramic tiles being installed on one of the Robbins Hall pillars, 2008.
The Robbins Hall pillar project was part of the campus-wide GATEways (Gardens, Art, and The Environment) initiative which was established to use art, gardens, exhibits, outdoor teaching spaces and events to engage the broader community in the work and scholarship of UC Davis.The goal of the GATEways Robbins Hall Art project was to use art to reflect the academic activities and programs housed in Robbins Hall (which include the Plant Genomics Program, the Weed Research and Information Center and the Agricultural Sustainability Institute) and to expose elementary school students and campus visitors to what plant science is all about, how science is done, how discoveries happen and what scientists do.
In the fall and winter of 2007, students from four Davis elementary schools worked closely with their teachers, UC Davis faculty and graduate students to study different aspects of plant science. Then, under the guidance of local artist Donna Billick, founder of Rock Art, and her associate Marc Rivera, the children created hundreds of ceramic tiles within five "themes" of Evolution, Genomics, Plant-Microbe Interactions, Weed Science and Farming and Food. These were then put together and installed on five of the the existing pillars outside Robbins Hall in early 2008 and are now a permanent, beautiful and informative addition to the UC Davis campus.
