Registration open for Science + Art Saturdays

Science + Art Saturdays offer high school students a glimpse at college-level courses.

Local high school students can get a glimpse of what it’s like to take a college class thanks to Randolph’s long-running Science + Art Saturdays.

The free, hands-on labs, workshops, and interactive tours are taught by Randolph professors and professional experts from the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College.

This fall, students will get the chance to study topics ranging from mechatronics and robotics engineering to various printmaking processes to coral reefs and ocean acidification.  

Each session begins at 10 a.m. and lasts about two hours, with registration closing at noon the day before. Those who attend four science sessions are recognized as Science Scholars, and those who attend three art sessions are Art Scholars. 

Art sessions meet at the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College, 1 Quinlan St., and science sessions are in the Martin Science Building on campus.

The first session, scheduled for Aug. 26, focuses on balance and exercise. Carolyn Sarson, sport and exercise studies professor, will lead students in looking at body movement and visual input to demonstrate the importance of joint proprioception, vestibular (ear) fluid shifts, and vision on physical balance. 

Sessions—most of which have an interactive component for students—continue every Saturday through December. Other topics to be covered include diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2; wrapping, folding, geometry, and topology; meteorological phenomena; natural dyes; and the science of illusions. 

Four sessions will go behind the scenes at the Maier. 

In Printing without Ink, on Sept. 2, artist Jill Jensen will discuss The Matrix, the exhibition she curated at the Maier, and show participants how to make an inkless print.

Crafting Ancient Coins (Oct. 7) is a collaboration with the museum and heritage studies program and Emilie Bryant, collections assistant, focusing on ancient coins in Randolph’s collection, while Artists’ Books (Nov. 4) will explore the Maier’s 112th Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Back to Front: Artists’ Books by Women, and Math Meets Design (Dec. 2) will focus on the work of conceptual artist Sol Le Witt, who used a unique approach to create geometric designs called “wall drawings.” 

Get more information, and register for sessions, at https://admission.randolphcollege.edu/portal/science_and_art_saturdays.