ORANGEBURG, S.C. – When is a red-tailed green rat snake more than a snake? When it teaches students about science, writing and art in one virtual workshop.
That was the experience of high school student Zahara Sellers as she participated in the The I. P. Stanback Museum & Planetarium’s Summer STREAMing Workshop the last week of July via Zoom. Zahara’s detailed rendering of Gonyosoma oxycephalum (red-tailed green rat snake) was the result of four days of integrating concepts from the various disciplines.
STREAM is an acronym for science, technology, reasoning (and critical thinking), engineering, aesthetics (a combination of art, awareness, and psychology) and mathematics. The workshop supported students in preparing to return to school with activities included drawing and painting, discussion of vocabulary pertaining to art, science, and descriptive writing.
Summer STREAMing student Zahara Sellers shows her rendering of Gonyosoma oxycephalum created as part of the curriculum of The I. P. Stanback Museum & Planetarium’s summer workshop on the arts and sciences.
The program was designed for students from ages 14-17 and was presented jointly with the Stanback Museum’s community partners, The Skipp Pearson Foundation and the Hampton County Arts Initiative. The workshop was developed as a public service activity by the Stanback Museum and its partners. It was offered free to the public thanks to the generous support of innovative Museum programming by Jacquelyn and Sidney Fulton. Because the workshop was delivered virtually, class size was limited to a maximum of 15 participants on a first-come, first-served basis.
Summer STREAMing featured two segments of two days duration each. The first two days were devoted to drawing and development of students’ use of descriptive narrative. The second two days explored ekphrastic painting based upon poems and essays written by student participants on various topics. Students studied vocabulary relating to various art concepts, including portraiture, still life and landscape. They also were encouraged to develop careful observational skills that hone an awareness of details useful in scientific discourse.
Instruction was provided by Dr. Frank C. Martin, Stanback’s director of visual and performing arts, and noted artist John Glenn Wright, Hampton County’s arts coordinator. Support for registration and logistics was provided by the staff of the Skipp Pearson Foundation.
A diversity of students participated in The I. P. Stanback Museum & Planetarium’s Summer STREAMing Program dedicated to supporting students in returning to academic work in the fall.
