S•M•Art Schools
“I can’t thank you enough for the experience you gave my students this week. The empowered looks on their faces and in their voices was pure magic today.”
School Residencies: Where Science Meets Art in the K-8 Classroom
FCI educators lead project-based investigations and model the Next Generation Science Strategies for inquiry-based learning
FCI brings in local STEM professionals as expert resources in the classroom
FCI hires local artists who help students express their learning through original, creative work (sculpture, dance, poetry, painting, films)
Students become the scientist, artist, and engineer in the room for an authentic audience of peers and teach out the science concepts they learned with Flying Cloud
“I feel confident in my ability to move out of the old standards I’ve taught for years and create new units and lessons that focus on more inquiry, higher student engagement, incorporate math and ELA, and better communication.”
Reading the Landscape
Led by Flying Cloud Educator, Artist, and Ethno-botanist Elizabeth Orenstein and Executive Director Maria Rundle, the Clarksburg School 6th grade class explored how climate change is causing the town field to flood. They created an original field guide of the local biome to capture which plants are thriving and which are threatened by recent flooding.They created a topographical model to better understand the landscape and worked with engineers from Reynolds Engineering and the Regenerative Design Group to come up with solutions to mitigate the flooding. They made a video to share their lived experience with flooding and how it effects the citizens of Clarksburg. They will present their models, field guide, video, and proposed flooding solutions to the town Select board in Spring of 2024.
Convection Currents
Lee Elementary School and Morningside Community School 4th grade scientists made their own thermometers to explore the movement of thermal energy via convection currents. They spent a week studying thermal, mechanical, sound, and electrical energy transfer with Flying Cloud Educator and Artist Angel Heffernan and then hosted 100+ students in their Science Museum to share their hands-on investigations.
Making Waves
Fourth grade sound explorers from Stearns Elementary, Egremont Elementary, Williams, Capeless Elementary, and Allendale Elementary in Pittsfield worked with Flying Cloud Educator and Creative Technologist Debra Sarlin and Executive Director Maria Rundle to learn about information and energy transfer via sound waves. Assisted by Melanie Willins and Elizabeth Orenstein, students ran experiments in their lab, built working oscilloscopes to make visible the human voice, and ran a hands-on Science Museum for their schools’ 1st and 2nd grade students. What a party!
Shadows & Survival
Muddy Brook Elementary School 2nd graders worked with Executive Director Maria Rundle and local artist Meredith Babcock to learn about how animals survive the Berkshire winter. Using dance and storytelling, they made up stories of survival and used puppets to tell the story of original characters. Students showcased performances for their families at the Parent Conference night.
Biome Blitz
More than 70 Sterns Elementary School and Morningside Community School 2nd Graders explored their local biomes and gathered evidence of how the change of seasons effects the Berkshire wildlife. They created a photo mural and hosted a gallery walk of their work, making connections to the structures and functions of the plants and animals and their survival strategies.
It’s Electric!
Flying Cloud Educator, Artist, and director of Young Women in Science Angel Heffernan brought a week of energy exploration to over 180 students at Morningside Community School and Lee Elementary School along with Executive Director Maria Rundle and Flying Cloud Engineer Lili Atanacio. This program inspired Flying Cloud to host a free Rocket Camp in Pittsfield the summer of 2023 to expand on this dynamic work in the schools.
The Beat of our Hearts
Sterns Elementary School 4th grade students explored rhythm with Youth Alive drummer Jerome Edgarton and built working speakers with Flying Cloud educator and artist Angela Parker.
Geology & Stop Motion Animation
W.E.B. Dubois 7th Grade students studied convection currents, geologic modeling, and the changing landscape of Monument Mountain. Working with FCI artists Angel Heffernan they made original stop motion movies to showcase their learning and share with the 6th graders in a Geology FilmFest.
Energy and Engineering: Creative Design to Save the World
Muddy Brook Elementary School 4th graders worked with FCI Executive Director Maria Rundle and local professionals Laura Stone and Larry Gould (who both have built wind turbines in the Berkshires) to delve into the state’s engineering design and energy standards through a hands-on project that generates electricity.
Inspired by biomimicry, students worked collaboratively to design wind turbine blades that would transfer wind energy into electrical energy. The residency culminated in a gallery walk of the various designs.
Winter Shadows: Light and Shadow Puppetry
South Egremont School students meet weekly with Flying Cloud educators and explored Pre-K and K Science and Engineering standards about change of state due to temperature, animals’ seasonal habits, and what causes shadows and how they change with FCI educators Rachel Gall and Maria Rundle as well as musicians Mike Prentice and Chris Mullins.
This multi-week residency culminated in a retelling of a folk tale, Abiyoyo, using shadow puppets, song, and live banjo. Students led their families on an exploration of several science stations and fed them a feast based on their creative learning.
Born to Groove: Music, Movement, and Science
Music and Movement with science themes for Pre-K learners. Students groove along with songs, rhythm games, call and response, led and freestyle dances.
Thanks to Charlie Keil and the Born to Groove fund for making this program possible at Falls Village Day Care Center, Canaan Child Care and Southern Berkshire Child Care.
Physics is Fun!
Undermountain Elementary School 4th graders explored physics and dance with FCI Educator Rachel Gall and local dancer Tom Truss.
Physics concepts of speed, kinetic and potential energy, collision and energy transfer were modeled through dance and movement. Students further explored the 4th grade energy standards through experimenting with ramps and rolling objects, creating a drum rhythm, and making LED snap bracelets and thermometers.
As a culminating showcase, the 4th grade invited younger students to visit their Exploration Stations and taught them about physics through hands-on activities and dance.
Energy Collision
New Marlborough Central 4th graders explored physics and dance with FCI Educator Rachel Gall and local dancer Tom Truss.
Dynamic Dance
Lee Elementary School 4th graders explored physics and dance with FCI Educator Rachel Gall and local dancer Sarah Daunt.
Physics concepts of speed, kinetic and potential energy, collision and energy transfer were modeled through dance and movement. Students further explored the 4th grade energy standards through experimenting with ramps and rolling objects, creating a drum rhythm through the ramps, as well as creating working circuitry and LED snap bracelets and making their own thermometers.
The culminating event was a performance for the school and families with several science investigation stations as well as a series of dances, all accompanied by live fiddle music.
The Moving Mantle
The Monument Valley 7th graders explored their Earth Science standards through sculpture, animation, and geologic investigations with Rachel Gall.
In this residency 7th and 8th grade students master concepts in plate tectonics by producing stop motion clay animations that model changes in the Earth’s crust over geologic time. The activity will culminate with an art installation of a geologic timeline.
Time Travel: Geology in Motion
Students at the Liberi School explored vast geologic concepts through sculpture, animation, and investigations with FCI Educator Rachel Gall.
Out of This World
5th grade students at Lee Elementary School worked with FCI Educator Rachel Gall to learn the Earth use stop motion clay animation to model the motions of the sun, moon and Earth, the cause of day and night and the effect of Earth’s motions on shadows throughout the day and year. Students ask questions and create models to explain the 5th grade astronomy standards about the cause of day and night and the effect of Earth’s motion on shadows throughout the day and year.