The ART+BIO Collaborative has announced a professional development workshop for educators teaching in formal and informal learning environments. Program participants will have special access to art work from the public and non-public collections of the new Harvard Art Museums, as well as areas not frequently accessed by the public.
Information about the new workshop, plus information about upcoming trips to Puerto Rico and the southwest are listed below. This information has been added to the Classes Near You sections for Massachusetts, Texas and New Mexico.
After reading about the new classes, be sure to move on to the conversation with the instructors of the professional development workshop.
ART+BIO Collaborative
www.artbiocollaborative.com
The ART+BIO Collaborative in Cambridge, MA fosters the integration of science, nature, and art through novel collaborations, research, and education. They design innovative art+science curriculum and turn public spaces into interactive learning environments.
NEW! Professional Development Workshop for Educators
Combining Comparative Anatomy & the Visual Arts:
A Professional Development Workshop for Educators
Dates: April 20- 22, 2015 from 1-4:30pm
Location: Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge MA, 02138
Fee: $25, Does not include museum admission
This ART+BIO Collaborative workshop introduces educators to creatively combining visual art and life sciences to engage students in creative art-making and deeper learning of advanced scientific concepts. Working from museum collections and exhibits at the Harvard Art Museums and Harvard Museum of Natural History, participants will use biological illustration to learn about comparative anatomy and evolution. Participants will design creative art+science collaborations for their own classrooms and participate in collaborative art-making. This workshop is ideal for 6th-12th grade Art and Science teachers, however, all grade levels and informal educators welcome, along with any artists, naturalists or students interested in creative, interdisciplinary teaching and learning approaches. No previous drawing or science experience necessary. This workshop is part of the 2015 Cambridge Science Festival.
Pre-Registration required. Participants will earn 10 Professional Development points.
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ISLAND LIFE: Tropical Field Studies of Art+Nature in Puerto Rico, March 8-14, 2015- Spring Break
Embark on an artistic exploration of the diverse tropical wildlife of Puerto Rico, including rainforest, mountain, beach and coastal environments.
View Details/Register
DESERT LIFE: Field Studies of Art+Nature in the Southwest
June 26-July 2, 2015
Discover the unique beauty of the desert in this one-of-a-kind artistic journey through white sand dunes, black lava rock, desert caves, and mountain landscapes of West Texas and New Mexico.
View Details/Register
A Conversation with Stephanie Dowdy-Nava and Saul Nava
Stephanie Dowdy-Nava, primary instructor of the professional development (PD) workshop and co-founder of the ART+BIO Collaborative would like to start a conversation with you about science and art. You can join in the conversation by responding to her prompt below. Please respond by typing your comments in the Comment box.
Integrating biology and art helps students understand advanced scientific concepts more deeply and fully engage their creativity through informed, thoughtful artmaking. The PD program focuses on designing creative collaborations between natural history and the visual arts using comparative anatomy and biological illustration. What are some creative ways you have successfully integrated art and science in your classroom, studio or lab? Share your ideas here and they could become part of our workshop discussion.
ArtPlantae Today 
Stephanie and Saul,
Here is a class about science, art, illustration and theatre that may be of interest. This arrived in my inbox from The Huntington Library.
The current email newsletter includes information about a workshop called “Beautiful Science” on Stage. It is a workshop complementing the permanent exhibition of the same name (see http://www.huntington.org/WebAssets/Templates/general.aspx?id=16994). This workshop traces “the history of how scientific ideas (such as astronomy, evolution, medicine, mathematics, quantum mechanics, fractals, and thermodynamics) are dramatized by playwrights.”
What an elegant integration of science and performing arts! One truly great aspect of this program is the Beautiful Science School Tours, which broaden the outreach and impact of the program to young audiences.
Like the Huntington in San Marino, Cambridge has many amazing resources for educators. Our workshop takes place at the Harvard Art Museums (http://www.harvardartmuseums.org) and also includes a visit to the Harvard Museum of Natural History (http://hmnh.harvard.edu). Each of these locations has amazing examples of art+science colliding.
As educators we have to get creative and remember that taking students (and ourselves!) out of the classroom and into the community opens a world of programming, sites, and activities that would never be accessible with just the classroom budget – often for free. Thanks for sharing this link!
What are some other resources or ideas that readers have for integrating art and science?