Learn about many ways to combine art and science as we observe the world around us. We often think of scientists as methodical and precise, and artists as free-willed, impulsive creators. But did you know that some art has science packed right into it? And that artists throughout history have helped scientists conduct their work? Learn about the photography of Berenice Abbott who documented the changing New York skyline with photographs of architecture and urban design of the 1930s, and science interpretation in the 1940s to 1960s. Learn how to use the sun to air dry your salt dough creations and explore papier-mâché. 

Students are introduced to the Robotics Peripheral Vision Grand Challenge question. They are asked to write journal responses to the question and brainstorm what information they require to answer the question. Their ideas are shared with the class and recorded. Then, students share their ideas with each other and brainstorm any additional ideas. Next, students draw a basis for the average peripheral vision of humans and then compare that range to the range of two different focal lengths in a camera. Through the associated activity provides, students see the differences between human and computer vision.

Light painting is a creative activity that involves creating striking images and illusions using a camera, a light source, and a little practice. Light paintings may be literal representations or impressionistic, color-filled images. When the camera shutter is open (and the room is dark) the film or digital sensor acts like a blank canvas onto which learners "paint" with a flashlight.

In this lesson, students learn that light travels in a straight line from a light source and that ray diagrams help us understand how an image will be created by a lens. In the accompanying activity, students explore the concepts behind the workings of a pinhole camera.

In a simulation of potential future space missions to Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, student teams are challenged to direct a robot placed in an enclosed maze to search for and find the most “alien life.” The robot is equipped with a camera to send a live feed of its surroundings in the maze. Students control the robot from outside the maze by looking at the live feed on a smartphone and using the robot’s remote control, making a map as they go. The student teams compete as if they are space agencies creating their own exploratory systems to meet the challenge’s criteria and constraints and prove “in the field” that they have the best plan to win the mission contract and get the job. This activity simulates the real-world research of scientists and engineers developing a robot with the capabilities to explore under the ice-covered surface of Europa.