On A Silkscreen Near You: Landsat's Earth

A discussion post in one of the NSTA discussion forums prompted me to read this article. A teacher was sharing a classroom with an art teacher and wanted some ideas for posters for her side... See More

A discussion post in one of the NSTA discussion forums prompted me to read this article. A teacher was sharing a classroom with an art teacher and wanted some ideas for posters for her side of the classroom. This article shows how one can view the Earth from both scientific and artistic perspectives. Using geospatial technology, students visually consider how the Earth’s surface and art can combine to increase knowledge and understanding of Earth’s processes. Some of the elements that can be considered include: geological features, map interpretations, principles of design in looking at a 2-dimensional representation of Earth’s surface, and other artistic elements. The author discusses three forms of geospatial technology: GIS (Geographic Information Systems), GPS (Global Positioning Systems), and remote sensing (specifically NASA’s Landsat series of satellites). Many of the Landsat images are available for free through the USGS (United States Geological Survey). The student silkscreen pieces are truly magnificent pieces of artwork, some of which the author shares with us in the article. This article offers a glimpse into a different way to look at and work with scientific data – through the interpretive eyes of our artist-students.