Most people reading this knows the acronym STEAM on STEAMfest’s website stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. But, when an Art teacher submits an activity for STEAMfest, you don’t expect them to submit something that covers all 5 topics of STEAM. That is, unless it’s a Woodlawn School teacher.
Kim Lysne teaches primarily Art at Woodlawn School and is also a founding teacher with a science background. She submitted a video she shows her 5th graders to STEAMfest. As Woodlawn parents, we knew it would be more than a simple art video. That’s because students at Woodlawn do Project Based Learning and the projects they do often overlap with their other subjects. To complete their projects, students apply what they are learning in their various classes. When we saw the video, we never dreamed it would have practical applications in medicine, space exploration, robotics, and so many of the various field that make up STEAM.
The activity Ms. Lysne submitted was called “Paper Engineering and Pop-Ups”. In her Paper Engineering class, “the students transformed ordinary 2-D pieces of white paper into extraordinary 3-D works of art. They applied the same steps engineers and designers use to solve problems to make their creations. They came up with an idea, imagined possible solutions, created a plan, crafted their pieces, tested it out to see if it worked, and made improvements as needed until they achieved what they envisioned. They learned from mistakes and shared their successes and tips with each other.”
The video Ms. Lysne submitted was about Origami. When you hear the word Origami, you probably think, “Oh, the Japanese art of paper folding” and have images of paper cranes. And, many have not ever heard the Japanese word Kirigami, which is cutting folded paper to make objects. Remember making 3-D snowflakes in elementary school, that’s kirigami. What’s interesting about both origami and kirigami is they are widely used in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematical fields. Yes, that’s correct! Origami and kirigami have practical, real-world application!
That’s what Ms. Lysne’s students learned as they made pop-ups books and cards as part of their Paper Engineering class.
You too can learn more about origami and kirigami by checking out Ms. Lysne’s activities. You can also find more activities submitted by Woodlawn teachers, students, and parents on Woodlawn School’s Creator page.