Genestreams School Program
In today’s world kids love using devices but young people don’t always have the confidence to interact with nature. We are passionate about school participation in this project, as it teaches the values of observing nature which in turn develops compassion for other species and the natural environment that supports us all. Genestreams Earth software will enable a generation of young people, through devices, to interact with and observe nature more deeply through the lens of deep time. This project also encourages drawing as a foundation for observing nature in school studies. Our vision is that the Augmented Reality sculptures will have functional displays including an interactive school conservation journal. This will facilitate the Augmented Reality sculptures to become a historical museum of journal field notes created by each contributing school that can be continually added to year after year, generation after generation.
The Augmented Reality Genestreams Sculptures program includes young people in a proactive approach to conservation through an introduction to nature journaling and guided investigations into the deep time geology and ecology of their local area. Artwork by students embedded in the Augmented Reality technology, installed within the landscape of their school, provides a continual presence of their learning journey.
Pilot example of Augmented Reality Genestreams Sculpture – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pb0epOl28w
Pilot example of artwork created with the students at Uluru – https://sciart.com.au/unearthing-uluru-2016/yulara-primary-school-students-explore-the-universe-and-the-earth-through-deep-time/#
Process
Inform – students about conservation, ecology, geology, deep time history and astronomy relevant to their area. This may include a visit to the school by a local conservationist or citizen scientist.
Include – students in the research and creative process through their own discoveries and art. The objective is to connect the present to the past and ensure that a broad cross section of material is on offer. Some young people will prefer to draw animals and plants, some will prefer to draw maps and diagrams. Introduce students to the local geology and ecology by showing them different images from which they can choose to draw. Connect the age of the rocks in the region to the paleo life forms and fossils that students are introduced to. Students gain the understanding that “when the rocks were formed, that the school was built on, the animals that lived on the Earth looked like this, and the planet looked like this, and Australia was located about here”.
Create – a digital collage of drawings by students that are based on thematic images provided. The teacher will be required to photograph or scan the student’s drawings. The students or the teacher will arrange students’ drawings into a digital gallery. Tutorials on how to use the software will be available on the website.
Leave a legacy – the digital collage artwork will be displayed within an interactive Augmented Reality Genestreams Sculpture situated on the school’s oval or another relevant location within the school grounds, . Short films will also be embedded into the artwork which teach the students more about what they have drawn.
Build a tool for future generations of students – this experience can be repeated every year as students move through grade levels. Every year their knowledge, skills and involvement develop.