AIGA Portland & The Right Brain Initiative are seeking input from Portland creative professionals to contribute content to a “Brain Food” activity deck. The deck will offer a variety of imaginative challenges that will engage school-age children in developing creative and critical thinking skills. Upon review, they will be collected into a physical publication that will be distributed to Portland teachers and parents, and available at local retailers.
Submit your ideas to engage kids in creative adventures!
Here are two “Brain Food” examples to get you thinking:
MUSEUM MAKER
Find or collect “artifacts” or works of art that are interesting to you. Some people collect shells, postcards, buttons, pictures, or figurines. Decide what you think is important about each artifact or work of art and make labels or signs to go with them. If you would like to give your museum visitors extra information about the objects or art, dive into some research! Arrange your objects or art in a special space, on walls, tables or surfaces where they look good to you. Spend time thinking about how your museum is arranged. Do objects that are similar in some way belong near each other? Where do you put your favorite item? How can you feature your objects the best with light or color? How will visitors look through your museum from start to finish? You can also lead tours through your museum to talk about the objects with your visitors. Be sure to ask them what they see that they like, and why.
HEAR ME ROAR
Go on a hunt to find your own voice. Our ability to make an amazing range of sounds with our voice is often under-explored. Think about the places you’ve been that made you hear your own voice in a new way – your bathroom, a hallway, under a bridge, or in an echo-filled canyon. If you have it, use paper or poster board to create your own megaphone and think about giving your voice a new character in this space. You can use your voice to sing, make noises, tell a story, or let others know what’s on your mind. How far can you make your voice travel? How many different tones can you produce? Can your voice bend around walls? What environments create the most echo? A group of voices who perform together is called a choir or chorus. With a few other friends, you can momentarily claim rooms, alcoves, tunnels, archways, or fields with your new found voices.
Read more Brain Food examples here.
Guidelines for Contributions:
In short, submissions all must include the following elements:
Creative Activity/Exploration + Easy-to-Find Materials + School Subject = Brain Food
The activity should be unique, easy-to-understand, and relate visual art, dance, theater, music, media or design to one or more subjects kids learn in school. Some example subjects are: Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Civics, Cooking, Foreign Language, Geology, Geography, Journalism, Math, Nutrition, Oregon History, Physical Education, Reading, Social Studies, Spelling, Theater, U.S. History, World History, Writing
-Whenever possible make the challenge relevant to the Portland community. This may mean including specific geographic locations and landmarks, history, or environmental details specific to the Pacific Northwest.
-Materials needed to complete the challenge should be easy to find.
-Challenges should focus on creative process rather than final results.
-They should be applicable to children in grades K-8 and performed under the guidance of a parent or teacher.
Submission Instructions:
Email your contribution(s) to socialchange@portland.aiga.org in text form, and attach any relevant images. (Images may or may or may not be used in final implementation). Provide your title for the challenge, and your full name. Once submitted, the challenges/activities will be evaluated and edited by Right Brain staff and teachers. If your submission is chosen, you will receive credit for being a contributor in the final physical piece.
If you have any questions about the above, email Melissa at mdelzio@portland.aiga.org
Remember, keep it simple and fun!
Thanks,
AIGA Portland & The Right Brain Initiative
Background
This project was initiated by the AIGA Portland’s Social Change Committee members Melissa Delzio, Brittany Hanson, and Tina Le. The committee sprung from a national AIGA call for designers to engage more in efforts of social change in their communities. As critical thinkers, artists, professional communicators, and designers have a unique skill set that can utilized by many non-profits. The AIGA Portland Social Change Committee has chosen to partner with The Right Brain Initiative because of their impact on local schools and focus on the arts. To find out more about The Right Brain Initiative visit their websitehttp://therightbraininitiative.org or email Rebecca Burrell rburrell@racc.org.
Instead of going with a traditional graphic design firm, they were looking for a creative partner who could not only develop their new brand, but could also engage the community to share their insights and aspirations. (and all on a shoestring, non-profit-sized budget.)
