The region we live in, The San Francisco Bay Area, is beautiful and fragile and needs our attention and care. Discover the importance of water and the consequences of human activity on our watershed and on the ocean. From individual work to a group installation, campers make art and design projects, exploring mini-landscaping, basic circuitry and soldering, and graphic design. Part of the Art and Design Thinking Camp, a six week enrichment program in San Jose supported by the AYA (Alliance for Youth Achievement) . The A&D Camp is 6 weeks long, one art educators/instructors per week.Week One: Art and the Environment.

DAY FIVE

1. Mini Plankton Soup with Bio Ink from The Tech Museum.
Plankton are like ‘the canary in the coal mine of climate change’. By monitoring them, scientists learn about the ocean’s health.
What if bio inks could be part of the solution, by being a great alternative to harsh chemicals needed to make art supplies?
Campers will create their own petri dish art using stamps of microscopic ocean life and bio ink – a natural bio-pigment produced by living bacteria.

2. Make Plankton with Cardboard
Campers will create elements for a collective mural representing an ensemble of enlarged plankton organisms.
~ Why is plankton so important?
~ Why should we care about plankton?
~ Why should we take the time to create a mural that is a tribute to plankton?

3. Make a sign with recycled material and natural elements