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Photosynthesis & Botanical Art?

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, History, Learning Opportunities, Teaching & Learning on April 4, 2014|

Stories. Timelines. Visual data. Photosynthesis. Botanical art.

You’ll find them all in Historical Plant Studies: Tools for Enhancing Students’ Understanding of Photosynthesis by Dr. Stephen Thompson, professor of science education at the University of South Carolina.

Using the 5E learning model, Thompson helps students connect with scientists who, centuries ago, worked diligently to explain the source of plant matter.
Thompson (2014) prepares historical accounts of their studies and assigns one scientist to each student group in his class. Thompson’s students learn about the research of Jan Baptista van Helmont (1649), John Woodward (late 1600s) and Stephen Hales (1727), Joseph Priestly (1770s), Jan Ingenhousz (1790s) and Nicolas-Theodore de Saussure (1804).

After reading about the contributions made by their respective scientist, each student group begins the task of preparing an informational poster featuring their scientist’s hypothesis, materials and methods, results and conclusions.
Thompson (2014) encourages students to create their posters using mostly visual information and only the amount of text necessary to explain key information.

When completed, student posters are placed along a historical timeline and are presented in chronological order. As students present their poster,
Thompson (2014) gently corrects student misconceptions. Students are then asked to create a graphic organizer summarizing each study and are asked to draw models and write a description for one of the studies (Thompson, 2014). Thompson uses the drawing and writing exercise as an assessment tool to evaluate student understanding.

Photosynthesis is not an easy concept to grasp. Fortunately, Thompson (2014) makes this topic easy to understand and easy to teach, thanks to him sharing his written passages with fellow teachers. Get a copy of Historical Plant Studies and you’ll be ready to try this activity yourself and be ready to help students tell the story of how plants make food.

Thompson (2014) can be purchased online for 99¢ from the NSTA Science Store. You can also look for this article at your local college library.

Literature Cited
Thompson, Stephen. 2014. Historical plant studies: Tools for enhancing students’ understanding of photosynthesis. Science Scope. 37(6): 43-53

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Earth Day at Gilman Ranch – Schedule & New Flyer

Posted in Education, gardening, general botany, History, Special Announcements, Special Events on April 1, 2014|

Earth Day at Gilman Historic Ranch and Wagon Museum

The Earth Day celebration at Gilman Ranch is less than two weeks away. You are invited to come out to the ranch on April 12, 2014 to participate in fun family activities, learn about the Gilman family, visit the wagon museum, learn about the environment and listen to presentations by guest speakers. Click on the image to download the new color flyer.

Share the flyer with friends, family and your favorite teachers and librarians.

Who will be at the ranch? Take a look!

Educational Exhibitors

View a hybrid vehicle from the South Coast Air Quality
Management District.
Learn about fire fighting history with the Fire Memories Museum.
Discover local wildlife with Hidden Valley Nature Center.
Learn about composting with Riverside County Waste Management.
“Leave No Trace” Outdoor Ethics with the Bureau of Land Management.
Discuss local conservation efforts with the Inland Empire Resource Conservation District.
Discover eco-friendly pest control solutions by ECOSKAN Pest Solutions.
Find out how the Western Riverside Council of Governments strengthens communities in western Riverside county.
Get to know the Banning Community Advisory Committee

Family Fun Activities

Newspaper Pots (seeds and soil donated by Cherry Valley Nursery)
Accidental Foods & Potato Sack Race
Go on a tour of the Gilman ranch house
Enjoy a short walk on the nature trail (~ 1 mile)

Marketplace

Inland Solar
My Tickle Bee Beauty (soaps, oil, bath and body)
SunnysideLOCAL Produce and Nursery (jams and prepared foods)
Sew Hot Mommies (crocheted, sewn, and hand-crafted items)
ArtPlantae (books and supplies about plants, environment, art)

Dining

Big Dev’s BBQ

Community Survey
Would you like to see a community garden in Banning? Come to the ranch and let your voice be heard.

Guest Speakers

Dr. Mark Hoddle, Center for Invasive Species, UC Riverside
Jan Kielmann, 123 Farm, Cherry Valley (medicinal plants)
Tania Marien, ArtPlantae, Riverside (The Ambonese Herbal)

Schedule subject to change

Earth Day at Gilman Historic Ranch and Wagon Museum
Saturday, April 12, 2014
9 AM – 3 PM

Adults (walk-in) $3
Children $2
Dogs $1

Directions to Gilman Historic Ranch and Wagon Museum

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Buzz Pollination at Theodore Payne Foundation Gallery

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events on March 25, 2014|

Manzanita anthers. © Stephen Buchmann, All rights reserved

The Theodore Payne Arts Council invites you to
Buzz Pollinate: Slits, Pores, and Valves!

Contemporary artist
Jessica Rath is fascinated with buzz pollination, a co-adaptation between certain bees and specific angiosperms which require sonication, or vibratory resonance to release pollen from their anthers.

Over evolutionary time, the shape of these anthers has become a closed tube-like vessel with a limited opening pore or slit. These incredible shapes and the vibrations that open them are the subject of Rath’s show in the Theodore Payne Gallery.

Consulting with bee specialist Dr. Anne Leonard from University of Nevada, Reno, and buzz pollination specialist Dr. Stephen Buchmann from University of Arizona, Tucson, Rath has immersed herself in the scientific resonances around this fascinating phenomenon.

Purple Nightshade © Jessica Rath, All rights reserved

Some 5% to 6% of all the world’s angiosperms require buzz pollination, including commercial greenhouse tomatoes and some native manzanitas.

Jessica’s exhibition will include wax sculptures for cast bronze based on bee anthers, a series of watercolors, and a “buzz” sound work alluding to buzz pollination tonal values created in collaboration with experimental music composer Robert Hoehn.

Buzz Pollinate: Slits, Pores, and Valves opens on Saturday, March 29, 2014 and will be on view through June 14, 2014. You are invited to attend the opening reception from 2:00 – 4:30 pm. An artist talk will be begin at 3 PM.

Directions to Theodore Payne Foundation, Sun Valley, CA

Related
Educators!

Celebrate Pollinator Week early with a visit to Buzz Pollinate: Slits, Pores, and Valves.

Pollinator Week 2014 is scheduled for June 16-22, 2014. Get resources for the classroom or your summer program on the Education page at Pollinator Partnership.

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Botanical Drawing at The Ruskin with Sarah Simblet

Posted in Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, travel on March 19, 2014|

Click to download

Short Course at The Ruskin: Botanical Drawing

Artist, author and teacher,
Sarah Simblet, will teach a one-week short course in botanical drawing this summer. Her summer course complements the beautiful and highly regarded book, Botany for the Artist.

Students will spend a week in the drawing studios at The Ruskin School of Drawing and at the Oxford Botanic Garden. They will learn a range of drawing techniques and study plants in Oxford’s historic garden. This short-course will occur August 25-29, 2014. To learn more, click here.

While on the course website, be sure to click-through to read about Sarah’s current project illustrating trees for the The New Sylva, a book about British trees inspired by the world’s first comprehensive study of trees that was published in 1664. This new title is now available for pre-order. Order this book through the Sylva Foundation’s website and 100% of the proceeds will go towards their charitable work with forests.

Information about Sarah Simblet’s summer course has been added to
Classes Near You > England.

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Copper Etchings and Scientific Illustrations on View in ‘Flora: A Celebration of Flowers in Contemporary Art’

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, scientific illustration, Special Announcements on March 18, 2014|

Botanist and scientific illustrator Bobbi Angell is one of many artists participating in Flora: A Celebration of Flowers in Contemporary Art, an exhibition at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (March 15 – June 22, 2014). This new exhibition occupies four of the museum’s six galleries and explores artists’ relationship with flowers. Angell has more than 20 pieces in the exhibition. They include

Tritonia copper etching 9"x6" © Bobbi Angell, All rights reserved

copper etchings, scientific illustrations and illustration work printed in related publications.

Educational events associated with Flora will be offered through Spring. They include Artist Talks, an orchid care workshop, a wildflower walk, a gallery tour, a special lecture about bumblebees, a visit to one of the finest private gardens in North America, and a hands-on workshop with Bobbi Angell who will guide participants in the drawing of spring flowers and orchids.

Details about each event, as well as selected images from the exhibition at
Flora: A Celebration of Flowers in Contemporary Art.

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Save the Date! Earth Day at Gilman Historic Ranch

Posted in Education, general botany, History, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events on March 14, 2014|

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Celebrate Earth Day and learn about the history of the San Gorgonio Pass at Gilman Historic Ranch and Wagon Museum.

You are invited to the Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 12, 2014. Festival hours are 9 am – 3 pm. Attend fascinating presentations by guest speakers, participate in fun family activities and learn about solar energy, composting and how to care for the environment while enjoying nature.

Tania Marien will introduce visitors to Georgius Everhardus Rumphius (1627-1702), the naturalist who spent 50 years gathering information about the native plants of Ambon, an island in Indonesia. Rumphius’ detailed plant descriptions and illustrations were used to create The Ambonese Herbal. Produced before Linnaeus’ classification system, the English translation of this historic herbal was published in 2011. Learn about the work of this 17th-century naturalist and how information from this herbal is being applied to modern medicine. After this presentation, attendees will have the opportunity to view all six volumes of The Ambonese Herbal at ArtPlantae’s InterpretPlants Station.

Have lunch at Gilman Ranch and enjoy presentations by:

10:00 AM – Tania Marien, ArtPlantae
11:30 AM – Dr. Mark Hoddle, Center for Invasive Species Research, UC Riverside
1:00 PM – Faith Riley, Riley’s Stone Soup Farm

While at the ranch, be sure to visit ArtPlantae to learn about the botany behind the herbs and spices used in the cookbook, Hungry for History: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Food, History and Legends in the Pass. This one-of-a-kind cookbook will be available for purchase at the Wagon Museum.

Download a flyer, Share it with friends

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Plant Fibers & Dyes

Posted in Education, general botany, History, Plants, Special Announcements, Special Events on March 4, 2014|

The University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley will host a special exhibition about plant-based fibers and dyes. The exhibition, Fiber & Dye, opens on Thursday, March 6 and continues through Sunday, March 23, 2014. The exhibit is free with garden admission.

Garden visitors have many opportunities to learn about plant fibers and dyes this month. Here is a look at the wonderful schedule of classes: