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Information for teachers |
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This project,mixing art and science, with a focus on personal identity, has been devised and tested by the team of artists and teachers who ran the programme for year 5 and 6 children in 2 Scottish schools. It is now offered to teachers as a free resource, enabling them run it in their schools. The project is set out in this page as a sequential progression of steps enabling the children to gain an understanding of science through art through one theme - The scientific art of identity. The whole programme can therefore be used chronologically as a complete project. Alternatively,each step can be taken separately and be used individually as a stand-alone module to support other areas of school work within the curriculum. Links
have been made throughout this section to images of the work done
by the two schools involved. Other links have also been made to
a variety of support material, providing useful backup information. To see
a snapshot how the whole programme comes together, please see National Curriculum references (Scottish and English). |
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| Step
1. Self-portraiture. Who am I?
Here, the schools looked at traditional self portrait methods, used
by artists over the centuries, often using a mirror (Click
here for more information on self-portraits) They tried this method
in a number of ways. One school drew self-portraits excluding their
hair. Some children converted their names into words to describe themselves.
Click here to see examples of these
approaches Discussion can take place about what we see of ourselves
in a mirror, why paint isn't the real me and how photographs differ
from people. |
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| Step
2.
Who am I? - Things. The
next step starts to really add a scientific approach to the children's
identity. It is identity through things they own and like, a sort of archeological/psychological
profile of themselves. They have done this by laying on the floor on paper
and having a "scene of crime" style drawing done of their pose
(another child draws round them and the shape is cut out). It is then
filled either with the things they own and like or with images of those
things. Words and favourite colours are used too. What do these things
say about the individuals? Could you recognise the children physically
by looking at these unusual self-portraits? If they were put in a time
capsule and dug up a hundred years later, what would these portraits say? Forthill School, Dundee. Click here Blackness School, Dundee. Click here |
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Step
3.
Who am I? - Touch. Using their senses
of touch to draw themselves, the children consider how this type
of interpretation of data affects perception. Does memory of how
they look affect the results much? This exercise was done on one
continuous sheet of paper for the whole class - partly just to change
how they normally work. They children were also photographed with
their heads next to their drawings and use charcoal for
the work. Later the drawings were cut out and mounted in a different
way for the exhibition. |
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Step 4. An introduction to DNA. This is a short lesson introducing the children to what DNA is all about. For this information, which suggests some basic equipment, Click here for the link. For links to useful websites, including some on DNA Click here. |
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| Step
5.
Forensic art - identity through the fingerprint.
The children go from basic learning about what fingerprints are, which
animals have them, how each pint differs, to designing their own large
scale painting based on a fingerprint Summary of the whole exercise Click here to see what is needed for the lesson Fingerprint facts Fingerprint types identification Fingerprint record sheet Fingerprint classification website University of Dundee Fingerprint web pages |
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| Step 6. Drawing and painting the DNA spiral. This part of the project presented the children with a chance to observe a maquette (artists model for sculpture) of a DNA spiral and then interpret it in drawings and painting. The model was, in fact a scaled down replica of the DNA self-portraits they would be making in the next exercise. It needed, of course have been this particular model, sine the task was simple to do an individual painting on a common theme. It was also a group exercise on a long, continuous sheet of wide tracing paper,. the children worked on their own rectangle, but also could be influence by what others were doing around them, particularly the person opposite and those next to them. Individuality was encouraged, but so were links and references to the painting others were doing. This has parallels to the structure of DNA in individuals v that of a group. Individuality amid a common grouping. In this case tracing paper was used, but it could be any type of wide paper. The outcome was a startling banner for display. Click here to see the whole process. |  |
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7.
PLasticine
DNA spirals. This is to take
the children from two dimensional work on DNA to simple three dimensional
using basic, largely man-made components. THey can experiment in a number
of ways. In this exercise they can learn about preparation of materials
and the necessity for some sculptures to have a firm internal structure Click here for the steps taken and materials needed. |
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8.The
Spiral within us - Making full size DNA self-portrait sculptures. The
materials for
this needed to be prepared in advance. The main pole, the base and the
arms were all made from willow wood and this raised issues about sustainable
materials, which the children discussed. Links to many topics on this
can be found on http://www.ecoearth.info
The process of building these structure for year 5 and 6 children require some support from adults, mainly in the initial making of the constituent parts. Such input might be less if the making was done over a longer period of time. For this project it was all done in one day at the Sensation Centre, Dundee. Remember to leave time for paint to dry between the stages of the building. To see the whole process click here. |
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9.More
about spirals. This was a good opportunity
for the children to think about the abundance of spirals in nature and
to see how these have been used in art, sculpture and architecture. It
also enables the introduction of Fibonacci mathematics and the creation
of unusual spirals by the children based on his maths, and also influenced
by the collage of a snail by Henri Matisse Fibonacci - Click here Spirals in Nature - Click here |
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Step
10.Exhibiting
the material. At the end of the project the
two schools had created a vast amount of artworks and exhibiting the
works all together gave them a tremendous thrill, a sense of achievement
and an opportunity to show their friends and families what they had
done. The works all had great presence, enhanced by the volume, displayed
as art "multiples. |
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