This summer, Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories (IBSL) launched two new courses weaving together art and science. Participants got a taste of field biology and an opportunity to apply a creative lens to what they observed. Science of Craft included two three-day courses, one on nature journaling led by Jennifer Powers, a professor in the College of Biological Sciences’ Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, and one on nature writing led by Marlene Zuk, a professor in the College’s Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, and Kathryn Nuernberger, a professor in the College of Liberal Arts.
“Itasca is a phenomenal place for anyone interested in spending time immersed in nature,” says IBSL Associate Director Emily Schilling. “Scientists are keen observers of the world around them. It’s a requirement of the job. What makes Science of Craft so unique is that participants have the opportunity to engage with nature in ways they haven’t before with the guidance of instructors who bring a science perspective to creative practice.”
Case in point, participants in the “Drawn to Nature” course donned waders and used nets to collect macroinvertebrate specimens at the Mississippi River Headwaters, guided by Associate Director Schilling. This was a new experience for most, with one participant exclaiming: “I know what I want to be when I grow up — a biologist!” Students took their collected specimens back to the station to view them under microscopes. Then they sketched them and recorded their observations in their nature journals. “I was nervous about getting in the river, but I’m glad I did,” one participant said of the experience. “It really was a unique experience that a lot of people, including myself, could never really have outside this course.”
“It’s wonderful to see the delight of the participants as they try something totally new and then turn that into a poem or a journal entry,” says Schilling, who plans to offer the series again next summer. These courses are not for credit and are open to the general public. –Stephanie Xenos
Learn more about Science of Craft at z.umn.edu/scienceofcraft.