The Whale Tale
The Whale Tale worked with multitudes of students through the JCS Academies & Descanso Elementary in Baja Norte, Mexico. We learned all about California Grey Whales and made art from what we learned. It took the form of a life sized whale tent sculpture. Student teams researched specific areas of interest and painted murals illustrating their research inside the whale, as other teams wrote whale poetry.
The interior themes include: Migration route of the Grey Whale, history of the whaling industry, skeletal system, digestive system, the whale in culture, reproductive cycle, evolution of the whale, circulatory system, whale poetry, nervous system, and the respiratory system.
The interior themes include: Migration route of the Grey Whale, history of the whaling industry, skeletal system, digestive system, the whale in culture, reproductive cycle, evolution of the whale, circulatory system, whale poetry, nervous system, and the respiratory system.
After we developed the idea of what we wanted to make, we had to figure out how we’d construct a life sized whale tent. We studied armature, which are like the bones of a sculpture. Student teams made models to suggest how to make ours.
Check out our YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYeAJzQ5fUo
This project was facilitated and funded by BioEASI, and then exhibited at the San Diego Science Festival 2011. While we built this to be a free standing structure, it was shown inside a larger tent. Audience was told that they were plankton and that the whale was hungry. Hundreds of people passed through the whale, listening to whale songs in the blue/green lights as they learned about the grey whale. Meanwhile, BioEASI ran an adjoining art project that prompted kids to paint pictures of plankton.
The science festival went great! Next, we prepared for the North Park Festival of the Arts on May 15th. For this event, we needed to build a tail and we wanted to collaborate with a class in Mexico. We wanted to bring the whale to Baja and invite a school there to add to the whale before it returns to San Diego. We are calling this stage, The Whale Migration. Sadly, we ran out of money.
But then…Synergy Art Foundation funded us to do the whale migration stage! Yeah Synergy!!! We built the tail that will bring our whale to the size of a 40 foot, young adult. We also worked through ICBC of Rosarito to help arrange a Mexican class to collaborate with us. Thanks to Synergy and ICBC, the whale completed its migration in early May.
But then…Synergy Art Foundation funded us to do the whale migration stage! Yeah Synergy!!! We built the tail that will bring our whale to the size of a 40 foot, young adult. We also worked through ICBC of Rosarito to help arrange a Mexican class to collaborate with us. Thanks to Synergy and ICBC, the whale completed its migration in early May.
The entire K-6 school toured through the whale.
Click below to see a 2 minute video.
Click below to see a 2 minute video.
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I worked with the 6th grade class to guide the collaborative piece. My San Diego 6th graders had started a large "concept map" on the floor. It was composed of words and drawings in bubbles that branched from one another. To this the Descanso class added words in spanish and their own images. The concept maps were on whale related topics.
Click below to see a one minute video.
Click below to see a one minute video.
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Whale Pen Pals
As a related venture, I set-up a whale pen pal art project. I gave all 6th grade students (on both sides of the border)a sheet with a simple coloring book image of a grey whale and asked them to creatively decorate half the sheet, then write a description of themselves on the back along with a couple questions for their pen pal. I had my students in San Diego use Google Translator to write their part in Spanish. Then, I transported these sheets to the partner school on the other side of the border. Students completed the drawings and answered questions. I collected them and returned them to the first student. By doing one extra trip to Mexico, this allowed every student to have their own finished product. Below are some of the images.
A Whale of a Celebrity
Both the channel 6 & channel 8 news stations asked us to share our whale. For channel 6, we went to the station and set it up for the interview. The students worked on the exterior of the whale.The next day in Mexico, the Rosarito news showed up too!
Finally, we set-up at the North Park Festival of the Arts. Multitudes of people interacted as BioEASI ran an art project that asked people to draw plankton, and then go add them into the hungry whale’s digestive system. Our bubble machine was running, 2 stereos belted out whale songs, green and blue lights and our tail was complete.
