#STEAM ART VIEW PROFESSIONAL#

Art can also make scientific thought and culture relevant to a broad audience. For example, art can reinterpret scientific themes, providing us with new ways to look at our understanding of the natural universe-from finding new ways to visualize oceanic data that reveal the impact of climate change on marine life ( 14) to new points of view on the microscopic from artists shadowing scientists at the lab bench ( 15). Fostered through artist residencies as well as individual initiatives, STEAM efforts are yielding visual and spatial art that turns a new lens on the structure of scientific work ( 2, 12, 13). Visual, spatial, and graphic arts have the potential to reveal science and culture in distinct ways that are complementary to our traditional ways of understanding science ( 2, 11). Similarly, the proliferation of STEAM scientific image contests speaks to the power of art as a pathway to attract participation and interest in STEM ( 7вЂ“ 10).ДЄlthough scientific illustration is a familiar platform for STEAM, it is not the only model for productive scientificвЂ“artistic collaborations. For example, many STEAM projects recalibrate the typical relationship between science and illustration, resulting in images of scientific phenomena that mutually exalt STEM and artistic merit ( 4вЂ“ 6). STEAM projects recognize the value of art as not simply a vehicle for scientific content, but as a complementary contribution. STEM disciplines, as both professions and practices, are functionally dependent on visual modes of problem solving and communication, including schematics, symbolic logic, scientific illustration, and photography ( 1, 3). These initiatives have wide-spanning benefits: broader access and inclusion in STEM, enhanced learning of scientific concepts, building technical skills that are underserved in the curriculum, and enhancing studentsвЂ™ mastery of design and cross-disciplinary collaboration ( 2). TodayвЂ™s visual arts STEAM initiatives are the heirs of those learning traditions-many incorporate explicit notes of esthetics, visual literacy, and communication.

Historically, drawing was assumed to be part of the biology studentвЂ™s and professionalвЂ™s toolbox ( 1). Visual, spatial, and graphical arts as STEAMДЇrom our first cell diagram drawings in primary school to the advanced visualizations that illuminate our communityвЂ™s journals, visual literacy is an essential tool in learning and communicating biology.

#STEAM ART VIEW PROFESSIONAL#

We also discuss STEAM programs in science outreach and the development of professional scientists. In this Perspectives article, we review the use of visual and performance arts in science education and their benefits in both KвЂ“12 and post-secondary education. At the same time, performance arts such as dance and theater also lend themselves to integration into science education and training. After all, most scientists have had to generate diagrams to communicate their science effectively. When we think of integrating arts and science, the most obvious art form that comes to mind is the visual arts. Many are superficially aware of these efforts through familiarity with the STEAM acronym, a modification of the STEM acronym to include the Arts (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). Educator-scientists are meeting some of these challenges by infusing creativity-by means of the arts-into the education and training of future scientists. While the demand for a strong STEM workforce is growing and is recognized by academic, non-profit, and government institutions alike, there are challenges that threaten our ability to recruit, train, and retain such a workforce in ways that are effective and sustainable and foster innovation.

Steam art view