Mountain View Elementary’s gym was transformed into a glow-in-the-dark rain forest on Thursday night, showcasing around 5,000 pieces of student’s art.
This is the second year the school has hosted their Glow Art Show, which is a collaborative effort between art, music, science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and physical education classes, involving artwork created by every single student in their building.
“We have rain sticks from music class, we have recyclable materials used as trash art in STEM class and we have multiple pieces of both, two-dimensional and three-dimensional art,” art teacher Misti Foster said. “We just want all the kids to be successful, believe in themselves and have been a part of something big.”
Each piece glowed bright with neon blues, oranges, pinks and greens, thanks to lots of fluorescent paint, pastels, pencils, paper and black lights installed around the gym.
Peaceful, rain forest sounds were played through the speakers as students and families wandered around the show looking for their creations, organized and sectioned off by each teacher’s class.
“We just wanted to have an immersive experience,” Foster mentioned. “When you turn the lights out you can control the lighting, you can control the atmosphere a little more, and it just makes it more magical.”
The event for students and their families kicked off with a performance by the school’s chorus, who sang rain forest-themed songs in the cafeteria. Then, staff members helped usher attendees toward the gym for the art show, and other rooms where activities were happening.
Some classrooms were used to provide assessment information to parents, while other rooms were set up for making crafts or playing games, like glow bingo and bead art. Families were able to shop for their next read at a book fair happening in the school’s media center. Glow-in-the-dark temporary tattoos were available at $1 a piece as well.
Foster said the annual show is their biggest event for families, with hundreds of parents and guardians packing the gym to see all the glowing colors and art lining the walls, covering the floor, arranged on tables and hanging from trees made out of butcher paper.
Families and guardians didn’t just attend, they also helped make the show happen by sending their trash to school, like milk jugs, paper towel rolls and cardboard, to be turned into masterpieces.
“We have a lot of support from our families,” she added. “We’re a Title I school, we may not have a lot of funding, and people may not be able to send in art supplies, but they can save their milk jugs and paper towel rolls.”
“Reduce, reuse, recycle” was a major element in the art that students worked on in STEM classes. Their teacher, Kayla Easley, noted that no matter what grade level she’s working with, she wants recycling to be on their minds.
“If it’s something that most people consider junk, more times than not, we can find a way to repurpose it,” Easley said. “Then it also gives the kids a new perspective on ‘is something trash or does it have more potential?’”
To make the immersive show happen, Foster applied for a grant. Last year’s theme was “under the sea,” while this year, they returned to land for their rain forest, jungle extravaganza. Some students are already requesting that they head to space for next year’s show, but that’s not yet set in stone.