By Luisa Loi
La Conner Community News
Years after they threw their graduation caps into the air, a group of educators from various Skagit County school districts became students once more to learn memorable and engaging ways to integrate art into the classroom.
The Museum of Northwest Art’s yearly professional development program, MoNA Link, kicked off with a three-day learning session last week that culminated Thursday with activities that merged science and art, piquing the curiosity of locals and visitors walking on La Conner’s boardwalk.
MoNA Learning and Engagement Coordinator Dillyn Adamo said the program welcomes a cohort of teachers every year to a total of six training days — which also include three full-day professional development days in the fall, winter and spring — in collaboration with local artists and experts.
According to MoNA’s website, the program offers a collaborative environment where participants make art and learn art concepts and techniques with the goal of improving children’s critical thinking, language and observation skills through visual art.
It also encourages participants to use MoNA to supplement their lessons and invites students to visit the museum twice a year.
Thursday, guest speakers from the Padilla Bay Reserve gave a presentation about Padilla Bay and estuarine creatures before switching to a “plankton race” in front of the Pier 7 building. After learning about plankton and their distribution in the water column, teachers assembled their own version of the tiny organisms with various recycled materials, with the goal of creating a dummy that would float not too close to the surface — where plankton are more vulnerable to predators — nor too close to the bottom — where, in the absence of sunlight, they wouldn’t be able to photosynthesize.
After christening their creations, the teachers dunked them in a clear bucket at the same time as their opponent. The winner of each match would continue to the next round, until one plankton was crowned the winner.
Jacob Naegeli placed third with his plankton “Bob.” Despite being himself an art, science and engineering teacher in La Conner, the program taught him new ways to enhance the learning experience for his students. He recalled how, the day before, the cohort spent some time with butterflies and moths, analyzing their wings before immortalizing the close-ups with a painting.
With the first day of school getting closer, he looks forward to taking advantage of the local abundance of artists, experts and resources to foster his students’ creativity.
Guest artist Don Wesley emphasized the need to expose children to art in a way that is relatable to themselves and the world. The goal is to raise independent thinkers and help children discover their own “personal superpowers.”
In the second and last activity of the day, sun printing, Naegeli’s colleague Jess Pedroza chose to print her own bicycle keys while most of her peers printed out plants and flowers. As she later pointed out, there is no right or wrong way to be creative.
Pedroza, who is the Braves Hub after-school program coordinator, further exemplified this idea by recalling another assignment, which consisted of drawing contour portraits without looking at the paper.
“When you ask a kid to be creative… they get so caught up in doing it correctly that they don’t do it at all,” she said. “So many of our kids… are very concerned about whether or not they’re getting the right answer.”
At the end of the day, educators shared their main takeaways with their peers, suggesting the use of sketchbooks as tools for self-regulation, and allowing kids more autonomy in experimenting with different tools and techniques.
Since its debut, MoNA Link has trained over 200 teachers and impacted over 10,300 students in Skagit, Whatcom and Island counties, according to a project impact report.
To learn more about the program, scholarship opportunities and application deadlines, visit monamuseum.org/mona-link.
Community members are also welcome to check out the works of MoNA’s youngest visitors and program participants at the museum’s exhibition, “Creative Constellations: MoNA’s Youth Education Programs,” until Sept. 20.
Luisa Loi is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
