CHEMISTRY,
ART & DRAGONFLIES
Summary: Approximately 130
chemistry students and 70 art students will work with a local potter, a college
art professor, a metalsmith, and an expert in electroplating as they apply the
artistic and chemistry principles of electrochemistry, chemical formulas,
stoichiometric and mole calculations, and ratio mathematics to create
dragonflies whose bodies will be made of clay and glazes and wings of
electroplated and anodized metals. The dragonflies will be combined into
mobiles that will be displayed around the school and community.
Need
Statement: According to the National Science Education
Standards, science should actively engage students in inquiries that are
interesting and important to them and be connected to other school
subjects. This project will meet these
challenges as the principles and concepts of chemistry and the artistic aspects
of metal-working and ceramics are related to students’ everyday life
experiences and interests through the creative design and production of ceramic
dragonflies made from clay, glazes and metals.
The School Improvement Plan states “Education is a total community
responsibility” and to help students discover their best learning style in
order to prepare them for a lifetime of learning. This project will actively address these goals by involving a
local potter, college art professor, metal smith and an expert in
electroplating in the development and implementation of hands-on
activities. These activities will
enhance students’ and teachers’ understanding of the artistic and chemistry
aspects of ceramics and metalworking.
Strength
Statement:
·
The
potter will develop the recipes for the clay that students will use to form the
bodies of their dragonflies. He will
help develop and implement the activities that will require students to vary
the proportions of ingredients in order to determine the combination that
results in the best clay. He will also
provide expertise in the firing temperature of the clays and the glazes that
will produce the best colors for the clay bodies.
·
The
college art professor will work directly with the teachers and students in the
classroom in order to maximize the chemistry-art connections that in the study
of ceramics and metalworking. She will
also organize the use of the college’s kiln to facilitate in the firing of the
clay and glazed dragonfly bodies.
·
The
expert in electroplating will help develop and implement the lab activities
that to allow students to create electroplated and anodized wings for the
dragonflies. He will also contribute
the required cleaning and metal plating solutions needed for the electroplating
and anodizing.
·
The
metal smith will develop the procedures for creating and attaching the wings to
the clay bodies of the dragonflies. She
will work directly with the students to demonstrate the correct techniques for
working with metals and for embellishing the wings with beads and/or other
artistic materials.
·
The
chemistry teacher will provide the expertise in developing and implementing
hands-on and lab activities appropriate and safe for high school students,
making sure all activities meet the objectives and goals of the NC Standard
Course of Study for Chemistry and the School Improvement Plan.
·
The
art teacher will provide the expertise in creating and implementing hands-on
activities appropriate and safe for high school art students, making sure all
activities meet the objectives and goals of the NC Standard Course of Study for
Art Education and the School Improvement Plan.
Outcomes: By working with the potter, college professor, metal smith, and
electroplater, teachers will gain the confidence and knowledge needed to
incorporate new activities that integrate the art and chemistry curriculums and
provide students with opportunities to learn and apply science and art concepts
and principles. These activities will
engage students in inquiries that are interesting and relevant to their
everyday lives.
As students witness teachers and the
community professionals working cooperatively with one another they will see
that each individual has a responsibility in sharing his or her expert
knowledge in order to support and create unique and exciting learning
environments.
The challenging hands-on and lab
activities will be based on concepts and principles that are relevant to
students’ lives and require them to make connections among what is being
studied and other school subjects. This
project will also provide students with the skills and knowledge to continue
their interest in art and/or science outside of the classroom. Involving the community professionals in the
development and implementation of the integrated chemistry and art activities
will allow students to gain experiences that complement their learning by going
beyond the textbook and classroom. They will see first-hand that knowledge of
chemistry and art are essential to careers and hobbies such as metalsmithing,
electroplating, and ceramic engineering, and artistic design.
Sustainability: The hands-on and lab
activities developed for this project will be tried, tested and revised and
then made available for use by other local, state and national science and art
teachers by posting them on the chemistry teacher’s website and the supporting
college’s website. The project will be
shared with other teachers at the 2003 NC Science Teachers Conference. The non-consumable equipment purchased for
this project will be used for the replication of these activities and for
future projects. The partnerships
established among the teachers and professionals will support future
replication of the project or new and different activities.
·
September – November 2002: chemistry teacher will work with potter to develop
the clay/glaze recipes that will be used by students to create the dragon fly
bodies; chemistry teacher will write the student lab instructions for this
series of activities; art teacher will work with college professor to organize
classroom visits and use of kiln and develop the chemistry art connections that
exist in the study of ceramics and metalworking.
·
December 2002: Materials and equipment will be ordered; metal smith will develop the
techniques that students will use to attach the dragonfly wings to the bodies.
·
January 2003: Further collaboration among teachers and professionals to finalize
activities and schedule classroom visits.
·
February 2003: Students will complete the series of lab and hands-on activities to
create their dragonfly bodies.
·
May 2004: Students will complete the series of lab activities in which the
anodize and electroplate the dragonfly wings; the metal smith will demonstrate
to students how to work with the metals and attach them to the bodies of the
dragonflies; students will make mobiles out of the dragonflies and hang them in
various locations around the school and community.
Students
will
complete anecdotal evaluations describing what has been learned through their
contact with community professionals in addition to their increased
understanding of chemistry and art.
Students will be asked for suggestions on how to improve the project in
the future.
Teachers
and community professionals will complete evaluations describing the success of the project and
make recommendations for improvement.
Evaluations will address the levels of commitment and cooperation of the
teachers and the extent to which classroom practices have been enriched.
Chemistry
Evaluation:
Chemistry students will be tested on the understanding of chemical formula
writing and nomenclature, stoichiometric and mole calculations, the periodic
table, ratio mathematics and electrochemistry. Students will write formal
reports for each of the labs/hands-on activities, including analysis of data
and critical thinking and conclusion questions.
Art Evaluation: Art students will be evaluated through testing and final art works produced. They will judge their own work in a self-critique, using the Principles of Design and the Elements of Art. The critiques will include analysis of line, texture, shape and form in ceramics and metal-working.
Wake Education
Partnership Food For Thought 2002-2003 Teacher Grants Budget Form |
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Purchased
Items: |
Quantity |
x |
Cost/Item |
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Total Cost |
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Description:
(be as detailed as possible) |
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Titanium
wire (2ft/dragonfly, 2 dragonflies/student) X 200 students |
800 ft |
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$0.60/ft |
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$480.00 |
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Copper
mesh (3 pkg/class X 8 classes) |
24 pkgs |
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$7.00/pkg |
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$168.00 |
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Clay Raw
materials: AP Green |
10-1bs |
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$0.50/lb |
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$5.00 |
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Red art |
65-lbs |
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$0.10/lb |
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$6.50 |
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Gold Art |
15-lbs |
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$0.30/lb |
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$4.50 |
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Glaze Raw
materials: Frit 3124, 3131 & 3195 |
25-lbs |
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$1.50/lb |
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$37.50 |
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EPK |
6-lbs |
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$1.60/lb |
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$9.60 |
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Flint |
4-lbs |
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$2.50/lb |
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$10.00 |
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Superpax |
3.5-lbs |
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$2.90/lb |
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$10.15 |
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Veegum
Cer |
0.5-lbs |
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$6.00/lb |
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$3.00 |
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Glaze
Colors: cobalt compounds |
1000g |
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$40.00/500g |
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$80.00 |
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Copper
carbonate |
500g |
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$20.00/500g |
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$20.00 |
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Yellow
ochre |
1-lb |
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$5.00/lb |
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$5.00 |
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Iron
oxides |
2-lbs |
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$3.00/lb |
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$6.00 |
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Beakers
(250 ml) |
2 doz |
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$27.00/doz |
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$54.00 |
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Electronic
Balances |
3 |
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275.00 |
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$825 |
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Plastic
containers to store glazes |
25 |
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$1.00 each |
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$25.00 |
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Paint
brushes |
$5.00/set |
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10 sets |
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$50.00 |
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Plastic
spatulas |
3 doz |
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$8.50/doz |
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$25.50 |
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Stipend:
for metalsmith |
10hrs |
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$15.00/hr |
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$150.00 |
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For
potter |
10hrs |
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$15.00/hr |
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$150.00 |
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Detailed
explanation should be in body of proposal |
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Total: |
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$2124.75 |
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Donated
Items: (be as detailed as possible) |
Quantity |
x |
Value/Item |
= |
Total Cost |
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Description:
Nickel plating solution |
3-L |
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$50.00/L |
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$150.00 |
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NaOH
cleaning solution |
3-L |
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$25.00/L |
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$75.00 |
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Anodizers
(from another school) |
5 |
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$350.00 each |
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$1750.00 |
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Wire
forming plyers |
6 sets |
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$25.00/set |
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$150.00 |
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Total |
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$2125.00 |
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Donated
Services: (You
may not be able to quantify) |
Quantity |
x |
Value/Item |
= |
Total Cost |
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Description:
electroplating engineer’s time |
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College
professor’s time |
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Use of
college’s kiln if school’s is not functioning |
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Total: |
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GRAND TOTAL of purchased |
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& donated items/services |
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$4249.75 |
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