Using Field Trips
From Prep08Wiki
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| File:Fieldtrips.pdf |
Art in the classroom must perforce be in books or on the web. Real art is significantly different from reproductions, so field trips provide an essential way to see something real.
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Field Trip Organization
Decide when to go (during or outside class), how to get there (meet/carpool or provide transport). Get in writing how each student will arrive, what group they belong to, and who is responsible for bringing necessary items (i.e. a camera).
On site, take attendance, take a class photo. Have each student group take a group picture. Will you give a tour or let students explore? Maximize time by having students take photos and save analysis for later.
After the trip, each student or group should create something: A written paper, a poster, a web page. You'll need to give class time for groups of students to work together (or plan).
Symmetry Field Trip
We take our students to the St Louis Cathedral Basilica every semester. At present, the field trip, Seeking Symmetry, is a scavenger hunt for symmetry groups. We ask our students to find and photograph representatives of all frieze patterns, several rozette patterns and several wallpaper patterns. The teams score points depending on how interesting the groups are. Winners get prizes.
Each group of 3 - 4 students brings a digital camera. The team posts the photographs on a free image hosting website such as flickr, imageshack or photobucket.
See escherwiki:Seeking Symmetry for the assignment, and http://math.slu.edu/~clair/cathedral/ for pictures of symmetry groups at the Cathedral.
Saint Louis Art Museum
At the end of the semester we typically assign a field trip to the Saint Louis Art Museum. The museum has a wonderful collection of modern and classical art. Students are required to write a followup essay describing one or two pieces of artwork, how they relate to mathematics, and explaining the relevant math.
The exhibits change from year to year, so we (the instructors) need to visit the museum before giving the assignment. Some years we have Mondriaan and Rietveld works on display and other years we do not.
We usually offer a quick tour of the museum and leave time for students to explore or revisit works that they may choose for their essay. Often, students visit on their own. We provide a written guide they can use if they can't make it for the tour. You can see an example on the assignment page, escherwiki:The Saint Louis Art Museum.
