Mixing Art & Science

There are many ways to solve a problem, learn a concept or express an idea, and Trinity celebrates that. Perhaps the most obvious example is art class. Lower School art teacher Meg Renwick encourages her students to build on the techniques and concepts of the lesson, make the idea their own and venture in unexpected directions. “Kids love seeing that they are capable of making beautiful, complex works of art,” Ms. Renwick said. “They love trying new materials and figuring out how to make something that either matches what’s in their mind’s eye or becomes something completely new and different.”

In one project, second graders created pastel drawings of the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights. As a natural wonder, this makes for a fun and beautiful art project, but it's also an opportunity to weave science and art together. Trinity's curriculum strategically integrates subject areas to make the learning experience more holistic. “I learned that the Northern Lights don't go very fast, so you have time to really see how beautiful it is,” said Melania M., a second grader at Trinity. 

The collaboration between art and science goes both ways, and it sometimes can lead to more ambitious projects. In spring of 2019, science teacher Bill Earley led his classes to construct a shelter for chimney swifts, a bird that nests vertically, often in human-built structures like chimneys. After the construction was completed, Ms. Renwick and Middle School art teacher Linda Heron guided their students in painting the cinder-block tower. The paintings make the tower more beautiful, but they also are designed to educate the community and generate interest in conservation efforts. Trinity dedicated the tower to Anne Donovan, Trinity grandmother and bird conservationist, who inspired the idea for the project.