Maritime Discovery Schools Initiative

 

The Port Townsend School District has launched a five year initiative, Maritime Discovery Schools http://maritimediscovery.org, to align all school subjects and grade levels K-12 with a central Maritime and place-based theme.

Maritime Discovery Schools reflects a movement to authentically focus student learning on Port Townsend’s shared sense of community, local land and marine environments, and its vital history as a working seaport.

PT Artscape has effectively integrated arts learning with Maritime Discovery Schools programs and activities as this curriculum initiative has gained momentum. The following lesson plans represent a sampling of place-based arts lessons developed and taught by PT Artscape teaching artists.

Lesson Plans: (Click images to access lesson plans).

	Beach Art ala Goldsworthy Students create art installations on a local beach that are inspired by the work of Andy Goldsworthy and that incorporate both a sense of place and basic artistic elements using only material that they find on the beach.
	Plastic Water Bottles into Jellyfish Students learn about the prevalence of plastic in our environment and how we can help even by making a sculpture out of a plastic water bottle. We discuss environmental issues, reusing, and recycling by making a sea creature while thinking about how to clean up the ocean.
	Local Farm to Table Mural Students create a mural inspired by the local farms that are working with the school to provide fresh, local produce for student lunches and our meals.