Fifth-grade students in Ginger Rackley’s class at Saluda Elementary School transformed their science studies into art, creating self-portrait masks that reflect their own inherited genetic traits.
Students have been studying inherited traits in science, learning how characteristics are passed from parents to children through genes. To demonstrate their understanding, students created masks based on their own inherited traits, including whether they have straight or curly hair, dimples, freckles and other genetic characteristics.
The arts-integrated project allowed students to apply scientific concepts while developing creative expression skills. By examining their own features and translating them into artistic representations, students gained deeper understanding of how genetics manifests in physical characteristics.
The project was funded by the Be Inspired Grant from the Tryon Fine Arts Center, which supports arts integration in education by providing resources for projects that combine creative arts with academic subjects.
