On September 25, 2004 at Maui Arts and Cultural Center, 30 K-12 teachers and educators met for professional development integrating art, science, language arts and technology. The teachers were given digital cameras and the Hawaii State K-12 science standards

They were then asked to answer an essential science question visually with photographs taken from the immediate environment around the Cultural Center. The question answered had to be tied to one or more of the state standards. The teachers were told to imagine that their class had been studying that question as a unit in their classroom.

The teachers then viewed paintings of American painter Georgia O'Keefe and discussed the method of looking at nature or the environment enlarged to the point of abstraction. Using the photographs taken in the morning, the teachers learned how to use chalk pastels and created enlarged or abstracted paintings of their photographs.

Looking at the paintings below, notice how the participants wrote scientific facts and metaphors that answered their science question verbally.

Click on the links below to take a look at the photography, art, and writing done by the teachers participating in the workshop.