International Connections: The Art-i-Facts Project
At the Center for Creative Education, we want our students to be curious and learn about the world around them. We want to expand their knowledge and social awareness by connecting them with other people, cultures, and places.
Currently, second and third graders at The Foundations School are participating in “Art-i-Facts: A Multicultural Digital Museum,” a flagship project of Blue Planet Global Education. As part of the project, students send photos, videos, art, writing, and a “culture box” of objects to students from another part of the world. This exchange of “artifacts” allows students to see how children in other parts of the world live and what their lives look like.
The Foundations School 2nd graders partnered with SD Aisyiyah Kota Malang in East Java, Indonesia. They are studying the impact of climate change on manatees and dugongs (cousins of the manatee found in the Indo-Pacific) in their respective regions. They are also exchanging videos, photos, writing, and digital/visual art as they co-create a digital publication about their research.
The 3rdgrade students partnered with Saint Bachanpuri International School in Punjab, India, sharing videos, photos, writing, visual/digital art, and a culture box as they learn about each other’s cultures. The project will culminate in a digital museum to be published online in June 2022.
These cross-cultural connections build on many of our goals at The Foundations School, including developing our students’ social and emotional learning skills. Seeing how people live in other parts of the world develops empathy. Working with others who may think differently than you teaches students about teamwork. These relationships can have not only a profound impact on our students, but on the world. As Blue Planet Global Education says, “when students from different cultures learn about each other from each other, their virtual connections foster real understanding, break through harmful stereotypes, and lead to a more peaceful world.”