STEAM: Connecting Art to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Catalog description

Drawing from traditions of scientific illustration, fine art and literary interpretations of scientific concepts, and collaborations between scientists and artists, this course will establish the ways in which the arts and the creative process have informed the sciences, and have served as a source of inspiration, discovery, and dissemination of scientific thought. Building upon principles shared by the creative process, design-thinking, and the scientific method, the course modules investigate the relationship between form and function in art and each of the STEM disciplines, and explore how the creative process enhances sensory processing and perception of scientific concepts. Through hands-on activities, students will develop creative thinking skills and apply them to understanding and communicating fundamental STEM concepts. The course combines lectures, visual presentations, and problem-based learning activities to build knowledge of pivotal intersections between the arts and sciences, and to develop an appreciation of the interconnectedness of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and the Arts (STEAM). This course will examine art objects and processes that have facilitated understanding for scientists - as a process of discovery or record; and for audiences - as form of communication or art. Fundamental questions will be: "Can art or the creative process facilitate discovery and understanding for the scientist? How" "Can artistic interpretations of scientific concepts facilitate communication of science to different audiences?" "Can creative practice, ie drawing, enhance skills that serve scientific method, i.e., observation?" Finally, students will seek creative forms to convey scientific concepts in class projects, with the purpose of integrating these dualistic modes of inquiry to build upon their analytic and critical thinking skills holistically.