Elementary Students Document Change At Norlin Library

Earlier this semester, third-grade students from University Hill Elementary School visited Norlin Library’s STEAM Gallery to participate in a community engagement event weaving together art and science in a variety of forms. 

At “Word Journeys: Scientific Poetry,” students rotated through four stations of bees and pollinators, flowers and plants, and more. Each student was able to jot down observations in their ‘passport.’

Rebecca Coon, exhibit and program developer with the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, led the students through a lesson on pollinators. More than six different areas of the University Libraries collaborated on this programming. 

“This is the culmination of the theme on ‘Documenting Change,’ with the students observing plants, insects, and animals as part of the natural cycle and then creating their own poetry on what they observed,” Chemistry and Life Sciences Librarian Barbara Losoff said. 

The exhibit “Documenting Change: Observations in Art” in the STEAM Gallery continues to look at how interpretations of Colorado’s environmental data can inform and inspire art. In the last year, the collaborative installation has continued to evolve and adapt. 

Events like these allow CU Boulder students and faculty, as well as the larger community, to develop an understanding of the intersection between artists and scientists in their studies of climate. 

The program, “Word Journeys: Scientific Poetry,” affirms the Libraries’ commitment to lending its services and spaces to the greater Front Range community.