Rhode Island Museum of Science and Art
Art In Nature — Rock Stacking
These Kits are our way of bringing RIMOSA to you!
We provide a box of physical materials needed to participate in some of the hands-on STEAM programming RIMOSA is known for.
Kits can be mailed, dropped off or picked up at 763 Westminster St., Providence, by appointment.
These kits provide the materials, while the included links to RIMOSA Educator videos provide the inspiration any time you have the time to access the internet.
Remote participants are encouraged to email images or videos of their creations to inforimosa@gmail.com so their work can be uploaded to RIMOSA social media, to help create a community of makers sharing their creations and responding to others.
All participants keep their kits for further experimentation!
Individuals can order one full suite of 6 activities at a cost of $120, or one single Mobiles and Stabiles kit for $25, and then if you would like to add on the remaining 5 kits in the suite you can do so for an additional $100.
Although there are a variety of “science kits”, even “science kit subscription services” available, RIMOSA’s service is different because:
1. RIMOSA Kits don’t contain detailed instructions to follow to reach a specific end goal. They contain introductions to ideas and encouragement to creatively problem solve with open-ended and hands-on suggestions.
2. RIMOSA Kits contain sufficient materials to work with, but encourage the creative addition of any other materials participants can find. For example, a roller coaster built only with the materials provided will be fun, but participants are encouraged to add shoes, books, recycled materials and so on.
3. RIMOSA Kits have an element of community. Since the kits are open-ended, there are a myriad of possibilities for what individuals will create within the guideline. Having an online space for the posting and sharing of ideas introduces young would-be makers to others with similar enthusiasm, allows them to give and receive feedback in a moderated setting, and teaches them the importance of learning from peers and collaboration.
1. Art in Nature / Andy Goldsworthy: Use natural materials such as rocks, sticks and colored leaves (kit leaves are paper) to construct Goldsworthy inspired sculptures. Be inspired by Michael Grab, Rocky Byun and other artists, and practice the patient and gravity-defying art of rock stacking. Try your hand at stacking other natural or household items.
2. Marble Roller Coasters/ Rube Goldberg: Learn about the man behind the cartoons. Then explore the connection between potential and kinetic energy by using tubes, tape and other household materials to create creative marble “roller coasters”.
3. Mobiles & Stabiles/ Calder: Be inspired by the work of Alexander Calder. Design and create your own kinetic, colorful, and balanced mobiles out of wood, wire and colored shapes that students form themselves. In other work, use 2D materials – colorful cardstock – to create 3D works of art and engineering
4. Quilting Stories: Tell your own story through art using fabric scraps and cardstock. Inspired by Faith Ringgold’s unique style, make your own quilt squares to share your experience.
5. Biomimicry/ Kinetic Wind Sculptures: Design and build wind-powered kinetic sculptures based on the anatomical inspiration of da Vinci’s ornithopter and Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests
6. Yarn Storming: Use simple materials to build a “spool knitter” and use it to make a material. Then take your creation and use to draw attention to some common object and make people smile, as is done in the public art of “Guerrilla Knitting” or “Yarn Storming”.
7. Color Chemistry: Explore the junction of color and chemistry! Learn about the use of chromatography in real life, how to separate pigments in ink (is black really black?), and use this technique to create unique water-color type artwork or secret messages.
8. Nano/ Thin Films: A nanometer is 1 billionth the size of a meter! Learn about nano-scale and nanotechnology. Do hands-on activities including making iridescent 500 nanometer thick “thin films” you can manipulate and play with.
9. Space Origami: Learn how the art of folding paper has inspired designs for NASA – from satellite solar panels to a “starshade” to other types of hardware. Make “solar panels” on a mock-up satellite fit into the “rocket” designed to bring it into orbit.
10. Perspectives/ Constellations: Explore the 3 dimensional form of space – how different common constellations look when viewed from places other than Earth. Design and build images that change according to where they are viewed.
11. Math in Nature/Tessellations: Learn about tessellations – fascinating mathematical structures made up of repeating patterns, like tiles or honeycomb. See how artist M.C. Escher used them to create dizzying artwork, then learn how to easily make some of your own!
12. Leonardo da Vinci/ Catapults: Using da Vinci’s catapult as inspiration, design, build and test your own mini catapult using the provided household objects.