Our new schools exhibition finds the beauty in science
Our stunning new exhibition of work by primary school children, finds the beauty in the Island’s scientific past, present and future, and celebrates it.
The exhibition features work from three primary schools – Queensgate, St Thomas of Canterbury and Barton – which have each explored an aspect of the Island’s impressive scientific and engineering heritage.
Some of the most striking parts of the exhibition include the model coral reef and the luminescent jellyfish created by St Thomas of Canterbury, reflecting on workshops with a Artecology and the Future Oceans Foundation. Also on display are sand-cast bio-receptive pods that can be placed in almost any natural environment to encourage nature in.
One teacher at St Thomas of Canterbury described the project as “brilliant”, adding that the children “Talk about the project every day, even in maths and history lessons! What I love about projects [like this] is to see every single child is able to contribute and join in.”
Independent Arts’ project manager Kerry Tindall agreed: “We have been delighted to see how well the children have responded to this project – particularly some of those who struggle with the mainstream curriculum. Children who sometimes have difficulty with things like writing have excelled when expressing their learning through creativity.”
Rocket designs and a colourful pop-up space laboratory are among the works created by children from Barton Primary School based on their learning about the history of rocket development on the Isle of Wight.
Works by Queensgate Primary include vibrant marbling, created through experiments in resistance and drag as part of learning about the ground-breaking hull design by Bembridge mathematician and naval architect Blanche Coules Thorneycroft. Also on display, in Thornicroft-designed test hulls loaned by the Classic Boat Museum, are effigies of the architect, created by the year five pupils.
“The project has passed all my expectations… and I can imagine that the students had a great time making the models and experimenting,” said Victoria Preston from the Classic Boat Museum.
The exhibition is the first to come out of the year-long Arts Council England-funded Wavelength project, which is being delivered to seven to 13-year olds at six Island schools and through the public engagement activities during school holidays. It is open Monday-Friday, 10am-4.30pm, at Independent Arts’ Creative Hub, 48 High Street, Newport until Friday 23rd June.
