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Student Show on Insects 'n' Art Displays Novel Strategy for Teaching Science

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Photo: Woman points at eyes as man watches, another woman paints mural
Students discuss anatomical details for an illustration on the permanent mural in Briggs Hall.

Students in Entomology 1, "Art, Science and the World of Insects," will hold their end-of-the-quarter show 3-6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16, in Room 158 of Briggs Hall. The show will feature student work, including ceramics, textiles, graphics and even a permanent full-wall mural.

The course was developed and is taught by Diane Ullman, a °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ¿â Davis entomology professor. It includes a variety of lectures by insect experts and artists that focus on insect biology and ecology, as well as the role of insects in human culture, to show the connections between science and art. Weekly art studio sessions teach students to illustrate concepts in biology.

The course is unique in its approach to teaching introductory entomology by using art and design to express scientific knowledge. Ullman points out that science and art are much alike in that both fields are based on observations and experimentation that lead to a final product. She quotes Isaac Asimov, who wrote, "There is an art to science, and science in art; the two are not enemies, but different aspects of the whole."

Media Resources

Pat Bailey, Research news (emphasis: agricultural and nutritional sciences, and veterinary medicine), 530-219-9640, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu

Secondary Categories

Society, Arts & Culture Environment

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