NRC and North Carolina Museum of Art Project Stage 5: Post Production!

"Gaining STEAM from Ancient Egyptian Artifacts" entered its final, 'post production' phase recently in New Roberto Clemente/NRC Teacher, Howard Baldwin's technology classroom.

With the three-D printing completed, Mr. Baldwin's 6th grade students created an awesome display of their amulets including:  their two-D sketches, their actual three-D printed amulets, and a photograph of each of them wearing the amulet.

This is the last phase of an exciting STEAM project and collaboration that has been going on for several months.

 

 
Using the collection of Ancient Egyptian artifacts from the North Carolina Museum of Art, NRC students reflected on the question: "Why do students make?"  Students learned that Ancient Egyptian amulets held "special powers" for their original creators.  They also learned about the first man-made material, faience, that was discovered quite by accident by the Ancient Egyptians and then later used to create their amulets.  

Students could easily connect the relevance and meaning of the ancient amulets with contemporary art objects such as necklaces that humans continue to make today.  Often such necklaces hold special "powers" for the wearer, even today!  Students could also understand how an "accident" might create a new scientific discovery such as the material:  faience.  In fact students realized "happy accidents" are common to both the art-making and the scientific processes.  Thus, they saw that risk-taking and problem solving are both common elements in both disciplines as well. Such trans-disciplinary insights inspired students to create their own present day amulets with ease.

The "Gaining STEAM from Ancient Egyptian Artifacts" project has featured a collaboration between NRC Art Teachers: Lauren Mandal and Aimee Senopole; NRC Technology Teachers:  Howard Baldwin and Janette Selino; William Paterson Museum STEAM Art Professor in Residence Triada Samaras (funded by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation); North Carolina/NC Museum of Art Acting Education Director, Michelle Harrell; NC Museum of Art Educator: Camille Tewell and NC Museum of Art Distance Educator Emily Kotecki.
This was a true STEAM activity that crossed several disciplines.

For more information on this project please see:

Phase One: 
Coming Soon to Paterson: Phase One: A "Virtual" Museum visit from the North Carolina Museum of Art! 

Phase Two
Phase Two: Egyptian Amulet STEAM Collaboration with the North Carolina Museum of Art!  

Phase Three
Phase Three: STEAM Collaboration between NRC and North Carolina Museum of Art 

Phase Four 
STEAM Collaboration between NRC and North Carolina Museum of Art