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21st Century - 2004
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2004 Festival of Trees
Gadsden City School’s 21st Century participants from Striplin, Floyd and Walnut Park elementary schools recently attended the Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts Annual Festival of Trees. Each year, local schools decorate a Christmas tree according to the yearly theme. This year's theme, Operation Zero Landfill, teaches children about recycling, conservation, and other issues regarding the environment.
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After-school Cowboy Shows with Jim Dunham
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As part of the ongoing 21st Century after-school programs at the Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts, Jim Dunham thrills local school children with his special Cowboy Shows. Dressed in authentic cowboy attire, Mr. Dunham puts on a show that is as informative as it is captivating. Gadsden City School’s 21st Century participants from Striplin, Floyd and Walnut Park elementary schools attended one such event on Wednesday, October 28th and were treated to wild-west rope tricks, cowboy songs, and even a little gun-slinging.
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Mr. Dunham also taught children the difference between the real-life cowboy way and the Hollywood version. For example, a real-life cowboy rarely used his gun and, when he did, it was to signal for help or to hunt for food. The children also learned what a cowboy's job was in the westward expansion following the Civil War as well as the reasoning behind the cowboy "uniform".
In conjunction with the East Meets West art exhibit, these presentations have been fun-filled learning experiences that help to teach children the rich cultural history of the United States.
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Fall 2004 - The Rainbarrel Project
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Students from Striplin Elementary pose with Bobby Welch next to one of the barrels. |
Imagination Place is partnering with the Gadsden City Schools’ 21st Century Learning Centers after-school program at Striplin, Floyd, and Walnut Park elementary schools and with the Episcopal Day School to provide an Environmental and Art Education project to harvest rain water for irrigation purposes.
In order to provide water conservation education, Imagination Place Children’s Museum, the Hardin Center for Cultural Arts and the Middle Coosa Watershed Project will present a 10 session course. During this course, students will learn about the need for water conservation, storm water runoff and the recycling of water. Throughout the course the children will build a rain barrel to be used at their school.
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Merideth Parker and students from Striplin Elementary with another of the Hardin Center's rainbarrel. |
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Team members for this program are: Krista Ashley – project coordinator at the Middle Coosa Watershed Project; Meridith Parker and Lindsey Odell from Imagination Place; and Rob Johnston, the Hardin Center artist.
The program will tie into Water Day which is being held for all 4th graders on November 23 at Gadsden State Community College.
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The Stairwell Project
As part of the 21st Century children's art education program, the stairwell linking the upstairs administration offices to the downstairs art room at the Cultural Arts Center was decorated with murals painted by students of Disque Middle School under the direction of instructor Rob Johnston.
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“I wanted to create a visual riddle that one participates in going both up and down the stairwell. As one works ones way up from the bottom, the two-dimensional images assume three-dimensionality. They are often constructed upon multiple intersecting planes, making it possible to view them properly from only one position. Artistically speaking, this is an important lesson for the kids: The way that we look at things, i.e. interpret things, is essential for them to understand. Everyone has a different perspective.”
-Rob Johnston
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Shown here is the Illusion of Porky Pig in various positions within the stairwell. The first picture shows what it looks like from the intended viewing position. One can hardly tell that the image is, in fact, constructed upon three different planes. However, in the other views, the painting appears awkward and distorted. |
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