The Art of Gravity is a multidisciplinary project carried out by 3 teachers of 2 different countries: Spain and Greece.

The lesson plan arises as a result of  STEAM Scientix Modules, in order to be Scientix Ambassadors. We met in a special environment, sensitized to find a new way to approach science in the classroom, to provide students with enough tools to let them have in their minds the concern to research and to be possible future scientists.

This scenario contribute to show what gravity is and how to guide Primary School children to achieve this objective: using an experiential way, motivating them through gamification, and also using their bodies (music), their creativity (arts) their curiosity: IBSE, and computers (technology) in order to make them the concept interactive, attractive and more understandable. Cooperative Assessment is needed: peers participate in whole education process.

Our lesson plan is committed to experiential teaching. We believe the students are the protagonists of their own learning and to let them think is more important than memorizing mechanically.

The methodology, based on the intersection of Science and Art, in order to bring scientific thought closer to Primary School students, opens a door to interdisciplinarity, as in this case: the union of Music, Fine Arts and Science or, more precisely, the approach of concept of gravity, through music, sculpture and movement.

By observing, and starting from the most basic, the beat of our heart, we understood the meaning of the musical tempo and the questions arose, Inquiry Methodology, stimulating the curiosity to learn: at a slower tempo we move slowly, like being on the Moon.

So,

“Why do we move slowly on the moon? Can we explain what gravity is? Is there earth on gravity? And in space?”

IBSE: Inquire Basic System Education.Children wrote down the their questions about gravity and space:doing a mural or doing a padlet  attending to Covid 19 measures.

Through our body, music and movement we have experienced the effect of gravity, balance, strength-balance positions between couples, helping to overcome the tendency to fall, defying gravity.

The concern to know continued, “what is a black hole? Is there gravity?” We have created recycled instruments to imitate the magical sound of the cosmos and we have invented soundscapes, adding even musical apps, to imagine the feeling of being a space traveler.

After this introduction, children created an Arts and Crafts mobile to experiment where is the center of gravity.

IBSE: Inquire Basic System Education.Children wrote down the their questions about gravity and space:doing a mural or maybe suitable a padlet,  attending to Covid 19 measures.

And children programmed a game, using Scratch to simulate a Space travel, and where gravity is the protagonist not to crash against asteroids.

And we added Engineering Tasks: Create a Spacecraft using Lego WeDo.

Pupils made a model of the universe, using simple materials. Then, they used paddlet to made the timeline.

To summarize all the project, children divided their work to focus in an important aspect about gravity and they worked using Google Drive Slides platform, in order to show to the other mates the work done in a presentation.

Finally, the project ended using several tools to do the assessment, and asking children to participate in an active evaluation done by themselves.

To conclude, we would like to introduce ourselves and also to explain our contribution in this common project:

Our STEAM team has been integrated by 3 peers,

Angeliki Theodosi. ICT Teacher at Ralleia Experimental Primary School in Piraeus, Greece. The purpose of the proposed activities is to introduce Science through Art, by creating mobiles to play and experiment with the center of gravity as well as by Programming a Game which the player has to defeat gravity using his/her voice (a fun way for children with hearing problems to experiment themselves on controlling their voice ). Also with their voice pupils can adapt the velocity of the robot.

Mireia Elias Gras. Music teacher at Can Fabra public school in Barcelona. The purpose to work science through music and body expression is to involve children to Gravity, beginning from the knowledge of their own body and their possibilities, experimenting gravity by themselves. Children inquire,  research working in teams, exposition of solved questions and peers assessment coevaluation, to involve our students to whole learning process.

Angeliki Karageorgopoulou, ICT teacher in 2nd and 4th Primary Schools of Lamia, Central Greece. With the proposed activities, students delve into the concepts of Physics related with the creation and expansion of the Universe, the reason why galaxies are moving away from each other, the reason why the planets revolve around the sun and explain the spacetime curvature.

We three wish you like our STEAM PROJECT: THE ART OF GRAVITY!