ART-SCIENCE EDUCATION IN THE ANTHROPOCENE: EMBODIED METAPHOR WITH PUPPETS AND PERFORMANCE 

Shelly Hannigan and Joseph Ferguson

Abstract

The Melbourne Zoo’s campaign for endangered species (Melbourne Zoos, n.d.), calls for the public to learn about and act on the plight of endangered species. In response to this campaign, researcher-educators designed, implemented and evaluated a sequence of lessons in which art (particularly drama) and science were enmeshed. This learning sequence was designed to support year 10 students from an all-girls school to: 1) learn about endangered species, 2) create puppets of these endangered species using recycled materials, 3) use these puppets in a small mobile ‘theatre in a suitcase’ performance so students could, 4) communicate the story and plight of their assigned endangered species to a young audience (primary and pre-school children, and their parents).

This learning sequence is shared and discussed as a model of teaching and learning art and science education. In doing so, we discuss the power of metaphor that supports young people to connect with science through appreciating the natural world and its species as a ‘shared world’; a world with which they are deeply connected. We argue that these learning experiences offer students an opportunity to respond to environmental issues that when done in interdisciplinary and activist ways can potentially address ecological grief and anxiety issues. We share examples from our data analysis to show how the inclusion of arts with science provided opportunities for students to engage with materiality and for bodily experiences as they created and ‘brought to life’ puppets as metaphorical beings in effective, affective and engaging ways.

Key Words

Anthropocene, Art-science education, Endangered species, Metaphor, Performance