"Animal Expo" Stuart Student Art DR Greenway Olivia Rainbow Galle

Princeton, N.J.— D&R Greenway Land Trust’s Olivia Rainbow Gallery Presents “Animal Expo” art by students of Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, through April 12. In this imaginative interdisciplinary project, teachers from different subject areas collaborated to create multi-faceted learning experiences for Junior Kindergarten, First and Third Grade pupils. Each class approached the Animal Expo project through Social Studies, STEAM and Technology. Jill Work was Technology Teacher for “Animal Expo”, and Elene Nickerson STEAM Teacher. The product also emphasized Language and Information skills, in addition to the highly creative multi-media art.

Lively and compelling interpretations of animals fill the Olivia Rainbow Gallery, creatures native to New Jersey in general and central Jersey in particular. These young artists also crafted essays on habitat, food, interactions of their species with Lenapes of long ago, and with 21st-Century humans. All addressed habitat requirements and environmental effects upon their chosen species.

“Animal Expo” comes to D&R Greenway’s Olivia Rainbow Gallery after enjoying a ‘run’ at Stuart for all students, teachers and visitors. Various art forms peopled the Stuart exhibition, including not only drawings, paintings and essays, but also species sculptures, mechanical interpretations, sustainable/green design, “Joseph Cornell”-fine art boxes, and individual books.

The Olivia Rainbow Gallery was founded and is funded to carry forward the memory of young Olivia Kuenne. Although she did not live to enter kindergarten, this child possessed a remarkable artistic talent of her own, --intensely shared throughout her family. Olivia’s interest in nature sets the theme of her Gallery, in perpetuity. Its purpose is to inspire not only artists of the future, but especially preservationists of tomorrow

Each Stuart first-grader chose a specific farm animal to study and depict. Research included visits to nearby Howell Living History Farm. The children researched services and products each farm animal provides. Their assignment included comparing and contrasting “then” and “now” for the chosen animal. Each created a book on the selected species to share with schoolmates. First-graders created terra cotta sculptures, which they glazed; they even painted birdhouses. This multi-faceted process taught the youngsters to navigate a variety of non-fiction sources, utilizing and creating professional features, such as table of contents, headings and diagrams. Using “The Good Writer’s Checklist,” they self-edited drafts and polished final publications.

Third-graders, --with Aileen O’Shea and Denise King, teachers--, depicted their animals in vivid oil pastels. Their species studies were tied to Lenape traditions of long ago. These students’ creations were created in connection with the school’s Lenape Day, each tying the chosen animal to the class’s ongoing Lenape unit. (As in, “how did this animal help Lenape to survive?”) In addition to oil pastel interpretations, third-graders designed Joseph-Cornell-type fine art boxes. The project pamphlet explains, “Applying engineering and design skills, each created a 3-D mechanical model of the chosen species, demonstrating structural adaptations.” An online nature quiz game and a design sketch for sustainable/green architecture, also resulted from this unique project. The pupils ultimately utilized a block coding app to create animated slides. Research addressed, “Could this animal survive in the Stuart woods?”

Stuart’s Junior Kindergarten is part of a concentrated Early Childhood Program. “JK” students utilized field guides to local birds, with emphasis upon winter’s species; even learning to distinguish male from female of the species. The class also watched the maturation of eagles through the live Duke Farms Eagle Cam; and multiple species through the bird-cam of Cornell University’s famed Department of Ornithology. Andres Duque, Art Teacher, coordinated this powerful interweaving.

Language Arts and Information Literacy skills were emphasized throughout Stuart’s “Animal Expo” program. Their intricate brochure reveals, “They added to their writer’s toolkit with skills such as dynamic introductions, researching and referencing specific facts and details, and use of transitional words.

“Animal Expo” may be enjoyed through April 12 in the Olivia Rainbow Gallery of D&R Greenway’s Johnson Education Center. One Preservation Place, Princeton 08540. Free. 609-924-4646 www.drgreenway.org No need to call to see if gallery is available.

***

D&R GREENWAY LAND TRUST IS IN ITS 30th YEAR of preserving and protecting natural lands, farmlands and open spaces throughout central and southern New Jersey. Through continuous preservation and stewardship – (caring for land and easements to ensure they remain protected and ecologically healthy in perpetuity) -- D&R Greenway nurtures a healthier and more diverse environment. Its New Jersey reach has expanded to seven counties. D&R Greenway’s official accreditation by the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission was renewed with high praise.

D&R Greenway’s mission is to preserve and care for land and inspire a conservation ethic, now and for the future. Its current and increasing emphasis is upon healing trails. D&R Greenway’s preservation has passed the 20,000-acre mark, twenty times the size of Central Park.

The Johnson Education Center, a circa-1900 restored barn at One Preservation Place, Princeton, is D&R Greenway’s home. Through indoor and outdoor programs, art exhibits and related lectures, D&R Greenway inspires greater public commitment to safeguarding New Jersey land.