{"id":7546,"date":"2015-04-29T06:50:58","date_gmt":"2015-04-29T10:50:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/?p=7546"},"modified":"2015-04-29T06:50:58","modified_gmt":"2015-04-29T10:50:58","slug":"7546","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/2015\/04\/29\/7546\/","title":{"rendered":"Lilies in the bio lab"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DSC_0135\"\u201cPrinciples for the Development of a Complete Mind: Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses \u2014 especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.\u201d \u00a0<\/em> <\/strong>Leonardo da Vinci<\/p>\n

Lilies in the bio lab<\/h1>\n

CCRI workshops expose students to\u00a0the many possibilities and wonders\u00a0of\u00a0science<\/h2>\n

As many college students quickly discover, figuring out what you want to do with your life is a lot more challenging once the decision lands squarely in your lap.<\/p>\n

What do I want to be? It is the age-old question pondered since childhood. Yet, when you finally have the autonomy to make a choice, the answer suddenly becomes elusive.<\/p>\n

The Biology Department at the Community College of Rhode Island is trying to help students discover their intentions with a series of In-Reach workshops aimed at exploring options in science.<\/p>\n

The free events \u2014 funded by Rhode Island NSF Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) \u2014 target students enrolled at CCRI, hence the \u2018in-reach\u2019 rather than outreach.<\/p>\n

Emily Dustman, CCRI adjunct professor, led the most recent session in late April, Art Forms in Nature, where big glass flasks\u00a0of lilies greeted students arriving in the biology lab on the Lincoln campus.<\/p>\n

Dustman led the group through an overview of plant science, from form to function, reviewing the anatomy of plants, their reproduction and their role in ameliorating climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n

\"Emily
Emily Dustman, CCRI adjunct professor, takes notes as students list the roles of plants in nature.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the same time, she offered up the art of plant science, quoting Johann Wolfgang von Goethe from his 1790 \u201cThe Metamorphosis of Plants,\u201d in a booklet she prepared for students: \u201cShort of Aphrodite, there is nothing lovelier on this planet than a flower, nor more essential than a plant. The true matrix of human life is the greensward covering mother earth. Without green plants we would neither breathe nor eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a display of books for students to browse through lined a lab table, from the practical (plant illustrations) to the existential (Pablo Neruda\u2019s \u201cThe Book of Questions\u201d).<\/p>\n

And after dissecting the plants, labeling the parts and looking at pieces under the microscope, Dustman told the students they would then take up brushes and acrylic to paint specimens.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough collaboration, we learn more,\u201d she said, explaining the cross-section of disciplines.<\/p>\n

Dustman knows firsthand of what she speaks, the embodiment of science and art. Calling herself a turtle biologist, she holds a master\u2019s degree in herpetology, the study of reptiles and amphibians.<\/p>\n

And now, she is pursuing her natural science illustration certificate at Rhode Island School of Design while painting the turtles of Rhode Island for Roger Williams Zoo. She also teaches organismal biology at CCRI and Rhode Island College.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom when I was very young, I\u2019ve loved both the arts and science,\u201d she said. \u201cCreating, exploring and studying \u2014\u00a0I have a very curious mind. And, the artist studio is very much like a science lab. It is a space to create and ask questions, to explore and experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CCRI
Students reviews the steps of dissecting lilies before disassembling and labeling the parts of the flower.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tim Pelletier, RI NSF EPSCoR outreach, education and diversity coordinator, who coordinates the EPSCoR grant at CCRI, said the Biology Department saw the workshops as an opportunity to create an experience for students beyond the classroom and possibly tap into undiscovered interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to teach them what is available at CCRI in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, including art,\u201d Pelletier said. \u201cMaybe they\u2019ve been intimidated by science and we can expose them to something that they like and can do. Our mission is to introduce aspects of science they haven\u2019t studied or thought of before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dustman\u2019s workshop gave students the chance to smell, touch, and feel, the taking apart of a plant, learning about the anatomy, how the plant works, and the function within nature. The painting portion allowed them to express and interpret what they learned.<\/p>\n

It is through this kind of creative process, Pelletier said, that students typically discover new opportunities and career paths they might not otherwise imagine.<\/p>\n

Story and photos by Amy Dunkle<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cPrinciples for the Development of a Complete Mind: Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses \u2014 especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.\u201d \u00a0 Leonardo da Vinci Lilies in the bio lab CCRI workshops expose students to\u00a0the many possibilities and wonders\u00a0of\u00a0science As many college […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[21,1],"tags":[99,138,570,615,669,675,729],"class_list":["post-7546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-uncategorized","tag-art","tag-ccri","tag-rhode-island-nsf-epscor","tag-science","tag-steam","tag-stem","tag-undergraduate-education"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7546\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}