Open Minds
April 2
Telus Spark Science Center: Today we were visited by Vince, the exhibit designer, who worked with us on the planning and thinking stage when creating and building an exhibit or play-space. We spent time discussing and exploring why some people can and can't enjoy and participate in a play-space. For example, students spent time discussing and building a play-space where all people can enjoy and participate. We also spent time discussing "diversity" and "inclusion" using the play-space as the lens. 
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In the afternoon we were able to explore play through technology using dash robotics. This was a very engaging time of our day as we explored this tool. We plan to test the play-space we will begin to build tomorrow using these dash robotics. The goal is to use the dash robotics as an example of someone with mobility difficulties and see if our play-space honours diversity and inclusion. Here are some pictures of the play-space structures we were exploring today.Glenbow Museum:
Today at the Glenbow museum we started our day off working with Charmaine. We worked with her in the Modernist Gallery and collectively wrote a poem on a piece of art that was the size of large wall. It was called "Glass City". We then each chose a piece of art that spoke to use and wrote our own poems. These poems were simple but very moving. We picked a colour we saw in the art, then in one word named the thing and picked one word to describe its movement... Here are some examples of our lines of poetry:
"yellow banana boomeranging"
"green bush blooming"
"red line dashing"
"brown hill standing"
"blue sky floating"
Then we moved into the Discovery Classroom and used these poetry lines to create our own masterpieces using paint and special paper and brushes. Soooo much fun.
After lunch we spent more time in the Warriors Gallery and tried to answer the questions, "What would it feel like to be a warrior?" or "What might it feel like to be a knight?" by studying knight artifacts like shields and gloves. But the highlight of this study was getting to try on three different styles of knight helmets... Pictures to come.
We ended our day at the Meryl McMaster Exhibit looking at very interesting photographs. Meryl McMaster is the artist as well as the person in each of the pictures. Red is a colour that appears in all of her pieces in different ways and forms. The students spent time writing and sketching and adding a touch of red to their work.
What a great day. Special thanks to Jeff and Meghan for joining us today. Thanks.
