Zooplankton and seascapes as inspiration for young artists

(This post was written by Sierra Brown)

Hi everyone, it’s Sierra. I want to share with you all a collaboration I have developed, over the past year, to share my zooplankton research with students in a local public school. I joined Mrs. Baker’s art studio 2 class at Falmouth High School.

I introduced students to some of my daily activities, including where I collect samples and the organisms I observe. First, students used information from articles and a National Geographic video to create note pages, that included both written notes and artwork that related to it.

 

Then, Mrs. Baker and I took the students to Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve where they learned about the estuarine ecosystem, which we at the Tarrant Lab at WHOI have been studying over the past two years. Here the students recorded observations of the landscape and environment with more note pages.

Next, the students visited the Tarrant lab, where I am conducting my research. They looked at a zooplankton sample that we had collected locally. These observations, along with microscope images that I provided (both from my own work and the NOAA library webpage), gave them inspiration for their art pieces. In designing their artwork, the students learned about color theory and had the opportunity to incorporate alcohol and salt media into watercolor. The students later presented their art at a reception for other students, family, and the local community.

I created stickers that feature some of the artwork to spread the word about the importance of zooplankton in marine food webs. These were passed out at the Woods Hole Science Stroll, and I plan to take them to conferences to supplement my research presentations.