Famed Cartoonist To Visit Bethel High School

By Laurel Tuohy

The Ren & Stimpy Show Creator Bob Camp is planning a visit to Bethel High School’s 3D Modeling & Animation Students to advise and inspire.

Famed Cartoonist, and Brookfield resident, Bob Camp, creator of animated television series The Ren & Stimpy Show and artist on movies such as Horton Hears a Who! and Ice Age: The Meltdown will visit Bethel High School’s 3D Modeling & Animation Class on Thursday, March 27.

Camp’s visit is part of The Academy for 21st Century Skills at Education Connection’s goal to have students interact regularly with industry professionals. 

The 3D Modeling & Animation course is an 11th grade class that is part of the Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences at Education Connection. The Academy is funded by the U.S. Department of Education while Education Connection is a non-profit based in Litchfield. Statewide, Bethel is the first town to participate in the Academy.

The project that the class has been assigned for the year is to create the next Hollywood Animated Blockbuster. Not only do the students need to work in tandem to present a 3-minute scene or trailer for the project; they also have to craft a project prospectus, create outlines and detect and survey a target audience before launching a marketing and social media campaign for their “movie.”

Matthew Worwood, Digital Media Specialist at Center for 21st Century Skills, said, “The comment we most often hear from parents and other educators about the 3D Modeling & Animation course is that it’s the sort of work you’d expect out of upperclassman at a University-level art school.”

In the weeks leading up to May’s Connecticut Student Innovation Expo; a statewide science fair; and Connecticut Student Film Festival; where any student in the state can submit a video using technology as basic as a DROID or iPhone app; the Academy will be bringing more well-known leaders in contact with the state’s most forward-thinking students.

For more information, visit www.ctexpo.skills21schools.com, www.ctstudentfilms.org and www.educationconnection.org.